Polk Schools: Exterior cameras will be installed on buses for start of classes on Aug. 12

Polk County Public Schools has installed exterior safety cameras on all 511 buses in its fleet, and the devices will be operating when classes begin on Aug. 12.

Drivers who illegally pass stopped school buses will receive warnings for the first month, the district said in a news release. Citations with a fine of $198 will begin Sept. 24.

The district signed a contract in April with Verra Mobility Corp. to install cameras on more than 500 buses and to provide the technology to share images with the Polk County Sheriff’s Office. The CrossingGuard cameras will be mounted on the driver sides of buses.

Polk County Schools Superintendent Fred Heid and Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd shared details of the Safe Stop program Wednesday morning at a news conference.

Polk County is one of several districts in Florida introducing the video enforcement safety program to start the new school year, the release said. The cameras are intended to capture images of drivers who illegally pass when the stop-arm of a bus is activated.

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The district pays nothing for installing and operating the cameras, and Verra charges a flat fee of $200 per camera per month, with the district’s cost covered through payments from violation revenues. There is also a $49 fee per "event package" — video, license plate image and other data.

The Florida Legislature last year passed a law setting the civil penalty for driving past a school bus’ stop signal to $225 for violations captured by a detection system. Of that amount, $200 goes to the school district in which the violation occurs and $25 to the Florida Department of Health’s Emergency Medical Services Trust Fund for payment to trauma centers.

Polk County Public Schools operates more than 120 schools with over 115,000 students .

Verra Mobility is a publicly traded company based in Mesa, Arizona.

Gary White can be reached at gary.white@theledger.com or 863-802-7518. Follow on X @garywhite13 .

This article originally appeared on The Ledger: Polk Schools: Exterior cameras will be installed on buses for start of classes on Aug. 12