CORYDON, Ind. (WDRB) –- Drug money is being used to keep students safe while getting on and off the school bus.
New high-tech cameras were purchased with the money taken from drug dealers and installed on school buses. It’s all part of a partnership between South Harrison Community schools and the Harrison County Prosecutor’s Office.
“We want to make sure the ride home and to school is safe for our kids,” South Harrison Schools Superintendent Dr. Mark Eastridge said.
In the past few years, bus drivers for South Harrison Schools have seen drivers speed past their bus stop arms. No one was hurt, but it was too close for comfort.
“Something like that is just intolerable for us," Eastridge said. "We have to do everything we can think of to make our children safe."
That's why Harrison County Prosecutor Otto Schalk is partnering with the school corporation. The cameras, purchased from the drug money, can capture a vehicle going up to 110 miles per hour and can take a quality image of the license plate and vehicle.
“So from an evidentiary standpoint, this is beyond valuable for us to use in the courtroom in terms of seeking a conviction,” Schalk said.
The school corporation has 60 buses that transport 2,000 students every day. Not all buses have the cameras, but it's something that Schalk’s office is working on. He also plans on taking advantage of new Indiana laws.
South Harrison Community Schools bus cameras
“Historically, if you ran a stop arm from a school bus, it was a ticket," he said. "Well now, it's a crime. It's a misdemeanor. On your first time, I have the ability to seek a 90-day driver’s license suspension. If it's a second time, I can seek a one-year driver’s license suspension."
The hope is that people will stop driving distracted, which Schalk said accounts for 90% of bus stop arm violations.
“I don't think that we have a critical mass of those who run our stop arms that are really saying ‘Oh, I'm going to run. I see the stop arm, but I'm going to run it on purpose,'" Eastridge said. "But it's a distraction, and understand that distraction, just that second of distraction can create a tragedy that this community would be shocked over."
South Harrison Community Schools start Aug. 1.
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