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Duval schools weigh safety uses for $639,000 in bus-camera fines
Duval County Public Schools says it has collected $639,000 through cameras that catch drivers illegally passing stopped school buses. The district is reviewing how it may spend the money, which officials say is limited to transportation safety and security.
Duval County Public Schools has received $639,000 from fines issued through its school bus stop-arm camera program and is reviewing which uses are allowed under state law, Superintendent Christopher Bernier told the school board Tuesday, Oct. 20.
Bernier said the money’s permitted uses are narrow and tied to transportation safety and security. The district has not released a full list of eligible expenditures.
The program began in April in partnership with BusPatrol America, with cameras installed on about 900 buses. The cameras record vehicles that pass while a bus’s stop arm is extended and red lights are flashing. After a warning period, the district began issuing $225 citations on May 1.
Bernier said the district’s goal should be fewer violations, not a dependable stream of fine revenue. “If worked the right way, we should see less and less tickets,” he told the board, adding that the program “should not be a continuing source of revenue.”
District officials are also monitoring where violations occur. Stops that account for a large share of citations have raised questions about whether those locations are appropriate, and DCPS has begun investigating them.
Florida law requires school districts to base decisions to install stop-arm cameras solely on public safety. It also prohibits camera vendors from receiving compensation based on the number of violations detected, while allowing fixed payments for installation, operation or maintenance. DCPS has previously said citation revenue would fund the program, which it said would not cost taxpayers.
Bernier said he expects citations — and the associated revenue — to decline if the cameras lead drivers to obey bus signals more consistently.