Fairport to use county stop‑arm camera program; district outlines warning period and enforcement

Fairport Central School District officials told the board they will participate in the county stop‑arm camera program intended to catch vehicles that illegally pass school buses when red lights are activated.

Assistant Superintendent for Business and Operations Jeremy Nardone explained that most buses have multiple cameras that record continuously but only capture and forward images when a bus's red lights are activated. Footage is first reviewed by the program administrator (bus patrol) and then sent to the Monroe County Sheriff's Office for a secondary review before any citation is issued, Nardone said.

Nardone said the program includes a 30‑day warning period; during that time drivers who appear to pass a stopped bus will receive a warning letter rather than a ticket. Once the warning period ends, citation processing begins. "The first violation is $250, then it goes up $25 per violation, but not to exceed $300," he said.

Officials said districts can only ticket vehicles for violations that occur within their jurisdictional boundaries through the bus‑patrol system, and geofencing will be used to avoid ticketing in areas such as bus loops on school property. Nardone said recordings are retained for about 30 days and that there is no cost to the district to join the system; the vendor will maintain and replace cameras on a 5–7 year cycle.

Board members asked about operational details, including whether drivers must manually trigger clips (the presenter said no), how funds are allocated from fines and whether footage could be used for other investigations; administrators said they would report back with details after meetings with bus patrol and county officials.

The board indicated support for the program but requested follow‑up on funding flow, review protocols and privacy questions.