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Board explores automated speed cameras for school zones.Traffic passes through the school zone on N.C.89 near Gentry Middle School.The Surry County Board of Education is considering automated speed cameras to enforce speed limits in school zones across the district.A Surry County Schools bus sits parked at a district lot.The Board of Education is considering automated speed cameras to enforce speed limits in school zones across the district.Traffic passes through the school zone on N.C.89 near Gentry Middle School.The Surry County Board of Education is considering automated speed cameras to enforce speed limits in school zones across the district.Ryan Kelly | The News A Surry County Schools bus sits parked at a district lot.The Board of Education is considering automated speed cameras to enforce speed limits in school zones across the district.A retired North Carolina Highway Patrol sergeant wants to put speed cameras in places where a police cruiser cannot always be present: in Surry County school zones.Van Tate, a 28-year Highway Patrol veteran who spent 15 years stationed in Surry County, presented Blue Line Solutions’ automated speed enforcement program to the Board of Education’s meeting last week.The company specializes in school zone safety and is already conducting speed studies at six Surry County campuses.Tate did not mince words: “Speed kills, folks.” “To solve that problem, we need to hit it where the rubber meets the road,” he told the board.The program operates under SB 391, signed into law in October 2025, which authorizes the use of automated speed enforcement cameras in school zones.Violations carry a civil fine of $150 with no insurance points and no points on the driver’s license.The cameras operate only during morning and afternoon school zone enforcement hours, capturing rear-vehicle images that focus on the license plate, speed and vehicle rather than the driver.Citations are mailed to the vehicle’s registered owner.In North Carolina, the DMV will not allow renewal of a vehicle’s registration if the citation is not paid.According to materials Blue Line Solutions provided to the board, the company’s programs have reduced speeding by more than 90% in the first year and crashes by more than 35%.Tate said the program comes at no cost to the district.Blue Line Solutions installs and maintains the equipment, handles land use permits and site evaluations, and monitors the system around the clock.Under the company’s preferred revenue-share model, citation revenue is split 80/20 between the district and the company.The school board would determine how the district’s share is spent.“What does the cost of this whole program cost?Zero dollars,” Tate said.“It’s a no-brainer.” Tate said speed studies using radar devices called “armadillos” are underway at North Surry, East Surry Middle, Gentry Middle, Pilot Mountain, Meadowview Magnet and Surry Central High School.Dobson Elementary and Surry Central had already completed their studies.He said results from the remaining schools should be available within the coming weeks.Superintendent Dr.Travis L.Reeves said he initiated the conversation after learning about the legislation last fall.He reached out to Dobson Town Manager Jeff Sedlacek about piloting the program at Surry Central High School and Dobson Elementary.“Jeff Sedlacek would require a town ordinance change,” Reeves said.“But he felt fairly confident that might be something the town would entertain.” Reeves said Sedlacek involved Dobson Police Chief Michael Murphy in the discussions and the three sat down to discuss the school zones.“Chief Murphy was excited about the possibilities,” Reeves said.“He said, ‘I could write tickets all day long.’” Tate told the board he has spoken with both the current sheriff and the incoming sheriff who will take the oath in December, and both support the program.He also noted that while placing the radar devices Saturday, he observed that only North Surry and Gentry had the federally mandated DOT warning signs in their school zones.“I don’t know how this county has gotten by with it for years, but the federal government says this is how it has to be,” Tate said.Board member Dale Badgett said he sees the speeding problem firsthand.“I’m at Surry Central every morning, so I see the amount of police that have to be out there,” Badgett said.He said he was comfortable waiting for the speed study data before moving forward.Board Chair T.J.Bledsoe said the matter should go through the board’s safety committee.“I think all of us up here, number one focus should be safety,” Bledsoe said.“And you said it here.Focus on changing behavior so people slow down going through the school.” Reeves said he would invite Sedlacek and Chief Murphy to the safety committee meeting and that two school resource officers already serve on the committee.The board took no vote, directing the matter to its safety committee.