The new digital school and school bus radios recently purchased for the county’s school division were used on the first day, according to Superintendent Jason Wood.
A student had a medical emergency on the bus on February 15, Wood said and explained the bus driver “pushed their panic button, which then allowed them to communicate directly with dispatch while the transportation department was able to hear that conversation.
“The high school heard it as well, they called the parent and the parent got there minutes before the transportation director,” he said.
The student is okay, Wood said, but the new bus radios streamlined the division’s communication in response to that incident. It is reassuring to know that the division puts student safety first and this investment is a blessing for the division.
Rob Martin, chairman of the Patrick County School Board, said the communication exchange was impressive to hear.
“The bus driver was immediately in contact with 911 dispatchers. They were able to ask questions and get EMS (Emergency Medical Services) to the bus to take care of the medical emergency,” he said.
In addition to helping with coverage, Wood said the division will eventually be able to turn on the Global Positioning System (GPS) feature in buses.
“To give not only our transportation department, but in the event of an accident, the police department and everyone access to the bus locations so that they can respond to an incident more quickly,” he said.
The division received a $181,984 school security grant for the purchase. Wood said $176,040.63 in local funds also were used because a local match was required for the grant. The funds were used to outfit every bus in the division’s fleet with the new digital system.
“It increases our coverage and even from locations where you do not have cell service” due to the repeaters “that we have on Bull Mountain and at the high school, you’ll be able to get bus radio coverage,” he said. “We’ll have much better coverage and fewer dead spots with our bus radios by moving to the digital system.”
Currently, every bus is online, and each school is equipped with their administrator digital radios and day station, Wood said.
As a law enforcement veteran of more than 20 years, Martin said this was an incredible advancement in the safety of students and bus drivers.
“I’ve never heard of a situation where the bus driver needs immediate help, and is instantly connected to that help to be able to get assistance besides having to call 911 on a cell phone,” he said.
Martin believes the new school bus radios have tremendously increased the safety of students and staff.
“I think it is a huge reassurance to our bus drivers, and should be a huge reassurance to parents of students, that we have the ability now at the touch of a button to be in touch with emergency personnel that can immediately assist instead of everyone having to rely on information to different parties to finally get in contact with that emergency help,” he said.
Wood said the new digital system also interfaces with the intercom system.
“Now, instead of having to run into the office to do” a fire or lockdown drill, “administrators will be able to do that anywhere in the vicinity of the school,” he said.
With this, Wood said one can interact with the intercom system or use a two-button approach that allows an automated message to go over the intercom.
For example, Wood said if an administrator was out in the parking lot and saw someone coming in and needed to put the school on lockdown, she could do it from her location and not have to call the front office to put the school on lockdown.
“You could do that from your radio,” he said. “It’s much more efficient in communicating on the intercom system. I pray that it never happens, like if we had to do a lockdown drill, you don’t have to be in the front office to do that.”
Wood said the school division always strives to put safety at the forefront of its decision-making.
“This is another way we’ve invested to ensure that Patrick County Schools is ahead of the learning curve academically, and also more importantly with the safety of our students and staff,” he said.
