Baltimore County school buses are now sporting external cameras designed to catch drivers who illegally pass when students are boarding or exiting.
District leaders teamed up with the local police department to install the monitors from Alabama-based company AngelTrax ahead of the first day of classes Monday. At a press conference in front of Timonium Elementary School, Chief of Police Robert McCullough said driving infractions are an “ongoing problem” for student safety.
“During a one day study about a year ago, we had over 387 cars pass our school buses in Baltimore County – just in one day,” McCullough said. “It's a much-needed program so that we can protect our students.”
In 2018, Baltimore County ranked second in a statewide survey identifying the number of drivers who ignored flashing lights and outstretched stop signs on local school buses.
Around 80,000 Baltimore County students ride the bus to school each day. Superintendent Myriam Rogers said Monday that she hears “horrifying” stories from bus drivers each year about cars illegally speeding by.
Drivers caught on camera will receive written warnings in the mail for the next month as implementation of cameras continues. After that, each violation will come with a $250 bill.
Most of that revenue will go towards funding the camera system itself. The remaining 40% will go to the Baltimore County government to be distributed to the schools.
Rogers said leaders will use the money to pay safety assistants, who work in all middle and high schools to proactively create a safe environment through student relationships. That program costs the district around $6.5 million each year – which used to be funded by now-expiring federal Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) money.
The AngelTrax partnership will also upgrade existing internal cameras and streamline video footage availability.
McCullough said that each video marked as a violation will be reviewed by AngelTrax and a county police officer before issuing a citation. Drivers should receive notification within 10 days of the captured infraction.
“Through the use of this technology, the Baltimore County Police Department aims to deter dangerous driving habits and further enhance the safety of our students and our communities,” McCullough said.
Safety is only one of many priorities for the 2024-2025 school year, Superintendent Rogers said at Eastern Technical High School on Monday morning during first-day festivities. She also pointed to continued work on academic quality and attendance.
Eastern Tech has one of the lowest chronic absenteeism rates in the district.
“It's the climate that they have in the school,” Rogers said as students flooded in. “The teachers want to be here, the students want to be here, and really there's high levels of academic instruction, and so the students and their families make it a priority for them to come every single day.”
Rogers said that there are less than 70 staff vacancies in the school district this fall, down from over 300 last August.
County schools are also piloting new cell phone pouches to reduce in-school screentime for students, and continuing to build a network of mental health support through free apps like TalkSpace and in-person mental health providers.
