The New Albany School District (NASD) is committed to continually reviewing and increasing safety and security in its schools.
This semester, the NASD Transportation Department is in the process of conducting a safety review to ensure that our students are being safely transported.
A major objective is to determine if students are crossing the street to board the bus in the mornings or to unload from the bus in the afternoons. Several changes have been implemented to the routes to assure that students do not cross the road for transportation services. An emphasis has been placed on heavily traveled roads such as Highway 15, Highway 30, Moss Hill Drive, Bratton Road, and Martintown Road.
Lecia Stubblefield, Director of Transportation, explained that the changes in the routes were made to improve the safety of students by eliminating them crossing the street during loading and unloading times.
In addition, the following safety measures and features are being implemented on the school buses:
- All full route buses have Seon Camera systems installed. These cameras capture and record activity inside the bus as well as activity near the student entrance door and the area in front of the bus.
- Stop arm cameras have been added to selected buses to help capture the tag numbers of vehicles that run the stop arm on the bus. Stubblefield said, “Due to the dangers associated with this infraction, it will be our practice to prosecute anyone who passes a stopped bus.”
- Child check alarms have been installed on all buses to assure that no child is left on the bus sleeping. This alarm system requires the driver to walk to the back of the bus and disarm the alarm, checking for any remaining passengers on the bus.
- An additional stop sign has been added to the rear of several buses that travel the busiest roadways. This additional stop sign assures that the stopped bus is visible from greater distances.
- LED strobing lights have been added to the front and back of buses that transport students along heavily traveled roadways. LED lights are much brighter and eye-catching allowing motorists greater visibility. These lights strobe when the stop arm extends and students are about to load or unload.
“Safety is our first priority in the New Albany School District. Transportation safety is in the forefront of our minds,” Stubblefield stated. “We are committed to transporting every student to and from school safely every day.”
If you have safety concerns about any area of our transportation services, please call Lecia Stubblefield at 662-534-1800. “It takes everyone working together to assure the highest degree of safety for our students,” Stubblefield said.
