Superintendent Responds to Concerns Over Bus Cameras

Barnegat School District Superintendent Karen Wood said yesterday that parents concerned over video recording of student athletes who might be changing on buses don’t need to worry.

Tapes from on-bus cameras are only reviewed if there’s a discipline issue, she said, and the schools would have no problem assigning a female administrator to look over a tape of female students, and vice versa.

A few readers expressed concern over the issue after an was posted on Barnegat Patch last. Some parents said girls on the cheerleading squad sometimes change on the bus on the way to and from competitions, and they didn't want them caught on tape.

Wood said the concerns were news to her. Cameras have been a feature on district buses for years, she said, and she’s heard “no complaints from any parent.” 

Kids shouldn’t be getting dressed or undressed on the bus as it is, said Wood, according to the rules set by the cheerleading coach. “She never allows her children to change on the bus,” Wood said. “They’re never in less than a tank top and a pair of shorts.”

Wood said parents should know that the bus tapes are only examined if a behavioral incident prompts review of the recorded data.

“Nobody is regularly viewing the videotapes,” she said. “We don’t have the time or the money, nor do we need to, unless there’s a discipline problem.” Wood said if something came up on a bus full of all females – or all males, for that matter – the district would assign an administrator of the same sex to review the tapes.

“I’m not concerned about that all,” she said, and added that she and the district have full faith in transportation director Bill Cox, who oversaw the purchase and installation of the DVRs and would be the first contact in the event of a disciplinary problem on a bus.

Some parents said they were frustrated over the issue. A few said they didn’t want to speak on the record. But Diane Giles, whose daughter is a cheerleader, said she felt parents’ concerns could have been handled better and more promptly.

“I just wish they’d said all this earlier,” she said. And she’s not sure the cameras are a good idea in the first place.

“If there was a specific bus that had problems, that’s one thing,” she said. “It’s just a waste of money and time.”

In his presentation before the board on Nov. 22, Cox explained that since the installation of the first 10 DVRs last year, administrators have seen a significant drop in behavioral problems on the buses.

Wood pointed out that the Board of Education offered notice of the presentation before it took place in its meeting agenda, and said that if anyone still has concerns, she’s always happy to talk to them.

“I’ll talk to parents any time,” she said.