Mount Olive council asks Board of Education to stop accepting $250 bus-camera fines in lieu of court penalties

Council members on July 7 agreed to ask the Mount Olive Board of Education to stop offering drivers a $250 fine and a mandatory safety video as an alternative to municipal prosecution for illegally passing school buses, after hearing data the council said shows a steep drop in court-filed violations.

"These are serious infractions," Councilmember Miss LaLama said, reading a prepared statement that included municipal-court figures: "In 2023 there were 1,331 violations in municipal court for people who failed to stop for school buses. In 2024 there were 1,005. In 2025, when the practice began, there were only 151 violations in municipal court. At the end of last month, only 100 violations have been issued." LaLama said that pattern suggests roughly 900 motorists were steered into the boardofeducationprogram instead of municipal court.

Town Attorney responded that the administration has raised the practice with county and state authorities and that the counciland legal staff believe motor-vehicle infractions should be handled through municipal court so license points and the usual penalties apply. "The police have the authority if they see a motor-vehicle infraction occurring to stop the motorist, issue a summons, and go through the court system," the attorney said.

Mayor [unnamed], citing earlier outreach, said administration staff already have contacted the Board of Education and state agencies for review but that the council should make a formal request. "We took it to the proper authorities we needed to from the county to the state," he said, adding that the matter remains under review by the appropriate offices.

Councilmember LaLama moved to direct administration to send a letter to the Board of Education requesting that the board discontinue the internal fine-and-video process and allow bus-stop violations to proceed through municipal prosecution; the motion was seconded and the council signaled consensus to proceed. No formal roll-call tally was recorded for the direction; the council described the action as a consensus directive to administration to follow up with the board and state authorities.

The counciland public speakers emphasized the public-safety rationale. Resident Will Hunt told the council the practice was "outrageous" and said he supported stronger enforcement to protect children at school drop-off.

Next steps: administration will draft and send the requested letter to the Board of Education and report back to council on any state-level guidance or responses from the board.