04-03-2025
Miami drivers frustrated by school bus camera program. Who is responsible for fixing it?
The same day the Miami Herald and The Tributary published its investigation into the Miami-Dade school district's school bus safety program, superintendent Jose Dotres issued a memo addressing criticism of the program. In his memo released Friday, he instructed Ivan Silva, the chief of Miami-Dade Schools Police to work with the county sheriff's office to fix the citation review process.
The Miami Herald/Tributary investigation revealed not only that drivers were being issued bogus tickets that many were unable to challenge, but also that the contract with BusPatrol, the company that administers the program, was signed in a hasty manner by the school district, without a bidding process. The contract, which generates revenue for the district, was signed just 12 days after the board asked staff to do a 'feasibility study' on the program.
The program is a partnership between the school district, BusPatrol and the Miami-Dade sheriff's office. And while most of the parties to the partnership agree that the program needs fixing, there's no consensus as to how that will get done.
So far, none of the school board members have made strong statements regarding the district's role in ensuring that the school bus safety program functions efficiently. Five of the nine board members ignored requests for comments from a reporter.
None of the board members responded to how exactly they plan to address the problems drivers are experiencing with the program or if they feel like the partnership has overburdened the court system or the sheriff's department.
As of Dec. 19, a staggering 120,000 drivers had received violation notices in Miami-Dade County for illegally passing extended school bus 'stop arms.' The courts have received over 1,000 notices from people who tried to contest their citation, but so far no drivers have been given a chance to make their case in front of a judge.
The district never put out a bid to consider other companies, since the contract is 'revenue generating,' giving the district legal leeway to bypass the normal bidding process.
At least 16 drivers who spoke to reporters said they have been issued violation notices for passing a school bus 'illegally,' when in fact they were obeying the law.
The Miami-Dade County Sheriff's Office, says that a staff of 25 officers reviews videos of drivers passing school buses each week, averaging 50-100 reviews an hour.
But according to Detective AC Colome at the sheriff's office, the delays in scheduling hearings for drivers who want to contest the tickets were due to the Florida Courts E-Filing Portal 'not having the necessary mechanism for BusPatrol to process contestations, causing a delay in the process.' At the time of publication, the Miami Herald did not receive a response to a question about when the portal will be functioning properly.
The Miami-Dade sheriff Rosie Cordero-Stutz, who was elected in November, the first elected sheriff in decades, put a statement on social media on Saturday saying the BusPatrol program was 'causing understandable frustration in our community' and that they are working on addressing the issues, while also shifting responsibility away from herself, emphasizing the program was approved before she became sheriff.
The deal is a 'good one'
Jose Bueno, the chief of staff for Miami-Dade County Public Schools, said that the Herald's investigation raised eyebrows for the district, and that they will continue to 'monitor and evaluate the performance and impact.'
Bueno also said that the district considered the deal with BusPatrol a 'good one,' because the district also got cameras installed inside the buses and the whole deal is at no cost to the district.
'This is costing taxpayers zero dollars for the school system, it is costing individuals breaking the law money, and at the end of the day it is saving lives,' said Bueno.
But Bueno did agree that all drivers should be entitled to their day in court, and said that he will be reaching out to Silva to have schools police bring it to the attention of the Miami-Dade sheriff.
'We will have conversations with BusPatrol and the sheriff to be sure [the contract] is carried out,' he added.
One of the drivers who got a BusPatrol violation in the mail is District 1 school board member Steve Gallon, who at the Feb. 12 school board meeting raised questions about the program and how the district is spending the revenue it has generated. He joked that he paid his ticket, contributing to said revenue.
So far, the program has made $19.5 million, with the district taking home 30 percent, and BusPatrol keeping 70 percent.
School board member Roberto Alonso also spoke at the February meeting and aligned himself with Gallon, asking the school district to provide a memo related to how BusPatrol revenue is being spent.
In a text to a reporter, Alonso said he is working with the district since it is the district that procured the contract and they are responsible for managing it. He did not respond to a question about whether he feels a responsibility for the issues drivers face in contesting tickets.
Gallon provided a statement saying that there are 'additional questions that I have about the district's role and responsibility in the program's implementation and impact on community stakeholders.'
The chair of the school board Mari Tere Rojas of District 6 sent a statement which said the contract procurement process was proper. Rojas also shifted the blame away from the school district, saying they do not 'handle the issuance of violation notices or the appeals process for alleged violations.' Her statement also added that the 'external parties designated by the contract have stated that they are currently reviewing these processes.'
Board member Dorothy Bendross-Mindingall did not address a reporter's question regarding the contract procurement process. Instead, the board member responded with an explanation about how the program is supposed to work within the law.
During the February board meeting, Ron Steiger, the chief financial officer for the district, said that much of the revenue has been used to increase pay for bus drivers as well as implement GPS technology on school buses which allows parents to track the drop-off and pick-up timing of school buses. A document attached to the memo that Dotres issued Friday confirms that, and states that the district has earned over $6 million dollars so far from the program.
Nandhini Srinivasan, an investigative fellow for The Tributary, contributed to this report.
