Wake County Schools installing cameras on buses to monitor students
WAKE COUNTY (WTVD) -- The Wake County Public School System is installing cameras inside buses at Green Hope High School Tuesday.
School officials say the cameras are for students' safety and to help retain bus drivers.
The installation is being done on more than 75 buses while students are on spring break. 102 buses currently have cameras. The goal is to have cameras on all of the district's nearly 850 buses by June.
There are four Seon cameras being installed in each bus that automatically start recording when the bus turns on. They're linked to a secure wireless connection and GPS technology.
Driver Kendra Galloway said the cameras will make her feel like someone has her back.
"I think it will be a big plus because it will eliminate a lot of he-said, she-said stuff because a lot of times the children are saying the bus drivers do this that and other and they're not and there's a lot of things going on in the bus and we need to be watching the road," Galloway said.
District officials say cameras for the additional 740 buses being outfitted cost $1.7 million.
Durham Public Schools says all 250 of its buses have cameras.
Cumberland County Schools says all 440 of its buses have cameras.
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Wake school officials say they believe monitoring students on the bus will improve their behavior and keep them safe.
Click here to read Wake County Schools' expectations for bus behavior
Officials also say they hope it will help with the bus driver shortage.
Former drivers have said student conduct, along with pay, are the reasons they have left the job, according to the district's website.
In addition, if there's an incident on the bus, officials will be able to review the footage as they investigate what happened.
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