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Board approves multi‑year upgrade of bus cameras and Wi‑Fi to improve student and driver safety
Summary
The board authorized procurement and installation of Safety Vision eight‑camera systems, Wi‑Fi equipment and server setup for 15 buses as part of a multi‑year upgrade plan; administrators said the package will expand outside cameras, enable automatic upload at the garage and help document stop‑arm violations.
The Wasatch County School Board approved a capital upgrade to the district’s bus camera systems at its May 26 meeting, authorizing procurement and installation of Safety Vision equipment on 15 buses as a first phase of a multi‑year plan.
Transportation director Adam Hagen outlined the technical changes: moving from a two‑camera analog setup to an eight‑camera configuration (four interior cameras and four exterior cameras, including front and rear stop‑arm views), adding Wi‑Fi capability so footage uploads automatically when a bus returns to the garage, and improving software and server access so staff and law enforcement can retrieve footage more quickly.
Hagen presented packet line items for 15 buses: camera hardware $50,349; Wi‑Fi equipment $16,241; and installation $24,500 (packet subtotal noted in the board packet). An additional $9,000 for server software/setup was listed in the materials. The packet line items sum to $91,090; with the server/setup item the total is $100,090. During the meeting the motion as read by staff referenced a total figure for approval that the board adopted by voice vote; transcript contains inconsistent transcribed totals (see audit). Board members discussed phasing (targeting newer buses first), a proposed three‑year timeline, and daily operational uses including documenting and reporting stop‑arm violations and investigating driver or student incidents.
Hagen said the district has 52 buses in its fleet; the approved purchase and installation will bring 19 buses (including four already upgraded) to the new system. The vendor will install the equipment over two summers to minimize service disruption. Board members asked how often footage is requested; Hagen said requests are near‑daily for incident review or follow‑up and that the new system will reduce the time needed to retrieve evidence.
The board approved the vendor and funding increase by voice vote and left a plan to return with future phases to cover more buses.
