Published: January 04, 2009 08:28 pm      

Mercer adding digital eyes to school buses

PRINCETON — What exactly happened on the school bus this morning? Who started that fight or was there really a fight at all? Video cameras found just about everywhere in society are now watching the comings and goings of school buses and their passengers.

The Mercer County Board of Education recently advertised for bids from companies interested in placing digital video recording systems aboard school buses. This latest bid is part of an ongoing process, said board president Greg Prudich.

“We have school buses with cameras in them now,” Prudich said.

Having video recorders and cameras inside buses helps maintain discipline and “works for the benefit of the kids, bus drivers and parents,” he said. “It covers everybody.”

Mercer County Schools now have 15 buses with cameras, said Transport-ation Supervisor Fred Scott. The school system currently has 83 regular bus runs. If another 15 buses can be equipped with cameras next year, each run should be covered.

“They’re a big help,” Scott said. “We’re finding a need for them more and more all the time.”

With a video camera in operation, school officials and parents can review any incidents reported while students are being transported to and from school. The video record makes a good witness.

“We can review the video and either prove or disprove what happened,” Scott said. “ It’s definitely a plus. If they (students) know we can review an evening or a morning, it can help. We can look back and say, ‘No, you didn’t or yes, you did.’”

Scott said he could not name the price of individual systems for each bus, but said that the cost goes down as the technology gets better.

— Contact Greg Jordan at gjordan@bdtonline.com