LUMBERTON — The Public Schools of Robeson County has been awarded a $200,000 school safety grant by the Department of Public Instruction’s Center for Safer Schools to install additional bus cameras.
The district will use the funding to place bus cameras on the remaining yellow buses at elementary schools. Remaining cameras will be placed on high school and activity buses not currently equipped with systems.
The installation of equipment on those buses will begin next week.
“We are grateful for this opportunity to equip more buses with cameras. Our goal is to continue to enhance student safety through grant opportunities like the School Safety Grant,” said Bobby Locklear, Assistant Superintendent of Auxiliary Services at PSRC.
The cameras can assist law enforcement officers with investigations of drivers who pass stopped school buses, Locklear said. In addition, bus camera footage can be accessed if an incident occurs on a bus or if the bus is involved in a crash.
In the coming months, systems will allow buses to automatically upload stored video footage to the cloud as buses arrive at school, he added.
Earlier this school year, the district used funding to place cameras on buses of 12 schools that were determined to have the highest need and most outdated equipment.
In 2022, the district received safety funding in the amount of $1,048,000 to purchase radios for every bus (yellow and activity buses) and for placing uniform keyed entry systems at all PSRC facilities.
The district was among 230 school districts and charter schools across the state to benefit from $35 million in 2023-2024 safety grants announced by NCDPI’s Center for Safer Schools.
Grant funds awarded to the schools and school districts could be used to cover safety equipment, training and services for students in crisis, according to the CSS.
“It is part of the Center’s mandate and mission to give public-school units the tools they need to help keep their schools safer – that includes grant funding,” said CFSS Executive Director Karen W. Fairley. “We thank the General Assembly for its generous appropriation that enables us to support North Carolina public schools.”
State Superintendent Catherine Truitt said the need for school safety funding is crucial in ensuring students’ well-being throughout their educational journey.
“Nothing is more important than making our schools safer and more secure, and these grants will continue to play a vital role,” Truitt said. “This funding will help improve school security in many ways, including, updating technology and training to prevent future emergencies. I applaud state lawmakers for making this a priority and look forward to working with them to deliver more safety funding in the future.”
About the School Safety Grant
In 2018, the General Assembly worked with the Department of Public Instruction to launch a new School Safety Grant Program to improve safety in public school units by providing grants for school resource officers, services for students in crisis, training to increase school safety, safety equipment in schools and additional school mental health support personnel.
Since then, more than $150 million has been awarded to public school units across North Carolina.
About the Center for Safer Schools
The Center for Safer Schools serves to promote safe learning environments for North Carolina K-12 schools. The CFSS serves as a hub of information and technical assistance on school safety to school faculty and staff, law enforcement, youth-serving community agencies, juvenile justice officials, policymakers, parents/guardians and students. CFSS staff focuses on school climate, school discipline and emergency preparedness concerns for North Carolina’s public K-12 schools. CFSS staff is available to provide training, guidance and technical assistance upon request for school faculty and staff and those working with children and adolescents. The CFSS is headed by Karen W. Fairley, Executive Director.