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District plans cameras and GPS for its student transport vans, cites federal alternative-fuel funds
Summary
Staff recommended a two-year agreement to install interior cameras and GPS tracking in district-owned student-transportation vans; staff said federal alternative-fuel reimbursements will largely cover the cost.
Council Rock School District staff told the finance committee on April 10 they plan to equip district-owned student-transportation vans with internal cameras and GPS units under a two-year agreement, and that federal alternative-fuel reimbursements will more than cover the cost.
Anthony Rapp, director of business administration, said the district sought quotes from four companies and received two. “The company offering the lowest quote was called Geotab,” he said. Rapp described a hardware charge of $265 per van in year one and a services fee described in the transcript as $39.50 per van, which the district calculated as about $10,557 per year for recurring services.
Rapp told the committee the agreement is for two years and that the cameras being proposed save footage to the cloud. He said the district has been piloting the van cameras for over a month. Asked by board member Joe Hidalgo whether buses already have cameras, Rapp said Durham-operated buses already had cameras and GPS but these are district-owned vans that previously lacked similar equipment: “These are We own vans. We own these vans,” he said, and confirmed they are roughly nine-passenger vans.
Rapp said the district received increased federal alternative-fuel reimbursements because its bus fleet is now fully propane. He told the committee those additional funds—he cited receiving “about 160,000 this year” in alternative-fuel money—cover the recurring cost of the van cameras and GPS. Rapp said year-one net cost for the project was “a little over $16,600” and year-two recurring cost is about $10,557.
Rapp and committee members discussed that the cameras are internal and record both forward and rearward views so staff can see the driver, interior and windshield view. The purpose, Rapp said, is to “protect the drivers and protect the students” and to provide turn-by-turn directions for drivers’ routes.
Staff recommended the contract proceed to the full board for approval; the transcript records discussion and questions but no formal committee vote on an award.
