PEABODY — Just before 2024 came to a close, Massachusetts state legislators passed Bill H.4940, which would allow districts to install cameras on school buses and potentially fine reckless drivers for passing illegally.
It’s a major victory for student safety statewide, and due to her strong advocacy and being the spark that lit the fuse for this cause Maria Scheri has been named Essex Media Group’s “Person of the Year” for Peabody.
It all started in September 2022, when Scheri took her son to the bus stop for the first time, thankful she wouldn’t have to deal with dropping him off on hectic Lynn Street anymore now that he was a middle schooler.
That didn’t last long though, as the excitement of a new school year was quickly interrupted when a car whizzed past the stopped school bus right in front of Scheri.
“And I thought maybe it was just one incident. Maybe their minds are still on summer vacation,” she said. “It just kept happening and happening… for me, I saw it, and I thought, this is just so wrong, somebody’s going to get killed, right?”
After doing some digging, Scheri discovered a school bus camera bill that went as far back as 2011 that would continuously be filed and then stalled in the state legislature.
Exemplifying the phrase, “be the change you want to see in the world”, Scheri started to make noise about this issue, going to Mayor Ted Bettencourt, conferring with city councilors, and listening to other concerned parents.
“Maria Scheri is a true hero for our community. Her leadership and advocacy for the school bus arm camera safety program will improve traffic safety in communities across Massachusetts and will save lives,” Bettencourt told the Daily Item.
Soon after forming a safety task force with Bettencourt, Scheri was approached by BusPatrol, a technology company that installs motion-detecting cameras onto school buses.
The results revealed thousands of motorists recklessly endangering lives throughout the 2023 school year, a shocking number to most, but not Scheri.
“Personally, I wasn’t shocked. But I think some people were really surprised” Scheri said. “And so, raising awareness for the problem was really the first step.”
All the hard work put in by Scheri finally paid off when Gov. Maura Healy signed off on the school bus safety act that would immediately go into effect as an emergency law, a huge victory for children’s safety.
“I was hopeful it was going to happen, but we were getting to the end of the year, and I knew if they hadn’t done it by just the deadline it was going to have to start all over again,” Scheri said. “When I found out the bill passed, I almost fell out of my chair.”
Of course, there’s still work to be done, as awareness of the issue is still lacking in the early days of the act being passed.
For that reason, Scheri continues to proudly advocate for student safety through her S.T.O.P. The Operator from Passing, which continues to educate and advocate for school bus safety.
“It’s really been a thoroughly exciting, interesting journey. There was some frustration. There was a lot of head scratching,” Scheri said. “I am really grateful for the people in the organizations that stepped up to make it a part of their agenda and to help to make the bus stop safer for the kids.”
