WS/FCS to purchase school bus safety enhancements

The North Carolina Department of Public Instruction began providing school districts with grant opportunities for bus enhancements last year, with a goal of increasing student safety as they board and exit. 

Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools was awarded more than $20,000. The majority of that money will go toward purchasing what are called “illuminated stop arms.” 

At a meeting on Tuesday, the district’s Chief Operations Officer Lauren Richards explained that these will make the buses more visible as they stop to let passengers off and on. 

“We think that will be a great help for our Early Start schools, and our bus routes that run a little bit later in the evening in the dark and so that all of our cars in the community can see that very clearly," Richards said. 

Right now, only one school bus has this equipment. The grant will fund eight more. 

Richards says the district will also purchase four stop arms with cameras, which can catch potential violations that can then be reported to law enforcement. 

According to the state Department of Transportation, there were nearly 1,000 charges against drivers who failed to stop for buses in 2022. 

Amy Diaz covers education for WFDD in partnership with Report For America. You can follow her on Twitter at @amydiaze.