Board reviews stop‑arm safety options after multiple illegal passes; district to test extended stop arm and collect data

Board member Mr. Wayne described repeated incidents of vehicles illegally passing stopped school buses on a route in Williston, saying drivers report the buses are passed multiple times a day and one bus had been passed as many as 16 times on a single route during a busy period.

Staff explained state legislation allows stop‑arm camera systems that record illegal passes, but that enforcement and contract models can make systems expensive. Citing media reports from other districts, staff said some large districts have very high volumes of illegal passes and large daily costs to assemble evidence packets and review footage; the meeting noted the statute requires law‑enforcement review of camera footage before issuing citations.

To reduce illegal passing without relying solely on camera‑based enforcement, the district purchased one extended stop‑arm device at about $3,700 and plans to pilot it on the bus that experiences the most illegal passes. Staff said the extended arm is roughly 6½ feet long, equipped with lights, is designed to break away on impact, and extends near the centerline to make passing more difficult. The district plans a short social‑media campaign to publicize the pilot before returning the bus to service.

Mr. Wayne said the sheriff’s office indicated they were reluctant to take on the workload of reviewing large volumes of video evidence and that extended stop‑arm devices may trigger charges if colliding with a vehicle. Board members discussed whether stop‑arm purchases could be funded through safety or grant money; staff said they would track pilot results and funding options and report back.

Ending: Staff said they will collect data on the pilot and follow up with the board on possible wider deployment and funding sources.