BRADENTON, Fla. — The Manatee County School Board is asking county commissioners to bring back the program allowing speed cameras in school zones.
The school board voted unanimously to send a letter to county commissioners.
"That's my opinion to form some kind of letter from us as the board to give to the county commission just to say we're in support of these cameras used at X, Y and Z times," said Chad Choate, Manatee County School Board Chair.
Last week, county commissioners voted 5-2 to end the program, with District 3 Commissioner Tal Siddique, and District 4 Commissioner Mike Rahn dissenting.
"God forbid a kid gets run over and we could have done something with data we had. I would just urge caution and not just kill this entirely," said Commissioner Tal Siddique during last week's meeting.
The BOCC approved the program in February 2024. It launched in August of the same year and was designed to improve school zone safety.
In 2023, Governor Ron DeSantis signed House Bill (HB) 657 into law. Florida law allows speed cameras in school zones to enforce speeding violations.
Drivers caught going more than 10 mph over the speed limit were fined $100.
In early February 2025, the commission adjusted the program's operational hours to be from 30 minutes before to 30 minutes after the start and end of regularly scheduled school sessions.
At a meeting on Tuesday, school board members discussed bringing the program back.
"If we don't at least say something about it, we're not protecting our kids and we as the board are here for our kids and that's our job to make sure our kids are safe even before they get on campus," said Heather Felton, a Manatee County School Board member.
Board members stressed the cameras made school zones safer.
"I think a point that needs to be drilled home is that we're talking about people going 11 or more miles per hour over the speed limit," said Charlie Kennedy, a Manatee County School Board member.
A total of 55,243 Notices of Violation have been issued by the vendor for the camera program, RedSpeed. So far, 22,292 drivers have paid the $100 fine. 4,051 violations are currently awaiting law enforcement review, with another 45 scheduled for a hearing March 26, 2025 with a Special Magistrate.
The school board agreed to ask the commissioners to bring the cameras back, allowing them to ticket drivers mainly during arrival and dismissal times.
A spokesperson for the school district said commissioners are currently working on drafting a letter.
The Bradenton Police Department said speed cameras within city limits remain active.
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