Penns Valley Area school district administrators want to install multiple high-tech cameras — up to three or four in some cases— on all buses and vans that transport students.
The goal? To curb bullying. “I think it’s a great tool,” school board member Henry Yeagley said at a work session Wednesday night.
The total cost would be $68,000. The cameras would be expected to last seven years.
“These are very different from the old cameras,” Penns Valley Area Superintendent Brian Griffith said, referring to those used on buses 10 to 20 years ago. Those cameras were placed in the front of buses, and had difficulty capturing anything taking place near the back, Griffith said.
He said principals will review the digital recordings “if we have an area of concern.”
Administrators said the Jersey Shore Area School District has used such cameras with some success. Signs will be posted to let passengers know they are being recorded, Griffith said.
Assistant Superintendent Sherri Connell previously worked in a district that had cameras on buses, and said they helped her address inappropriate behavior early.
The board plans to vote on whether to approve the cameras later this month.
Every two years, the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency conducts a survey of sixth-, eighth-, 10th-and 12th-grade students to learn about their behavior, attitudes and knowledge related to alcohol, tobacco, other drugs and violence. Bullying and depression are also topics in the Pennsylvania Youth Survey.
Penns Valley officials, unlike their peers in the State College Area School District, have declined to release their district’s survey results.
“The PA Youth Risk Survey is maintained as confidential, but I think the items that speak to our commitment is that each of our administrators have goals to improve building climate,” Griffith wrote in an email, after the CDT requested the document. “These goals are included in our regular reviews which determine ratings and salary.”
Statewide, 24.5 percent of
eighth-grade students who responded to the survey said they’d been hit, kicked, pushed or shoved around at school and 49.5 percent said they’d been called names, made fun of or teased.
Connell told board members that administrators recently reviewed district-issued surveys about bullying.
“We saw some success, but it wasn’t nearly enough,” Connell told board members. “It isn’t nearly what it needs to be.”
In the past, district principals have described the bullying that most commonly occurs as verbal and hidden: snide remarks, exclusion.
The district also plans to expand its Olweus Bullying Prevention Program this coming school year.
Board member Allan Darr said the cost for the cameras is reasonable, since it breaks down to about $10,000 a year.
“That’s one charter school student,” said board member Chris Houser.
Last year, about 80 students from the district enrolled in charter or cyber charter schools. The district pays the charter schools about $9,200 for every non-special education student and about $16,380 for every special education student.
Students and parents have cited multiple reasons for leaving district-run schools, but charter and cyber charter school leaders have said bullying is a factor in some cases.
Ed Mahon can be reached at 231-4619.
