Political palanca is pushing the gas pedal
It looks like the BusPatrol program is still parked in neutral — and the Miami-Dade School Board could decide Wednesday whether to tow it away or try to fix it. And three members are very connected to BusPatrol lobbyists pushing for the program to be reinstated.
Six months ago, after rampant complaints, Sheriff Rosanna “Rosie” Cordero-Stutz pulled the plug on the “school bus safety” camera program, which had been in operation since June of last year and issued more than 144,000 citations. Ticketed drivers said there were mistakes and no real process to contest the fine. At least 8,600 citations have been contested.
The BusPatrol plan was supposed to be a turn-key solution that cost the district nothing. Cameras would catch motorists who passed stopped school buses, read license plates, and tickets would go out automatically, and the company would share the revenue with the district. But it turns out that “turn-key” really meant turn a blind eye.
Now, the district is still trying to figure out what went wrong — and how to get out of the ditch.
According to an audit report requested by School Board Member Roberto Alonso and released last month, the program was never properly vetted, didn’t include any clear chain of communication between the district, the sheriff, and the courts, and ignored public problems BusPatrol had already experienced in other states like New York and Pennsylvania.
But that didn’t stop then-Chief Operating Officer Luis Diaz from pushing it through last year. Nor did it go through the usual competitive bid process, because it was revenue-generating — meaning 70% of every $225 ticket went straight to BusPatrol, and the other 30% went to the district. No violation of policy, the auditors say. Just a terrible idea that looks good because it has netted the school board more than $9 million so far.
The program hit the road in June of last year — and blew the engine before 12 months. An investigative story by The Miami Herald and Tributary found that hundreds, maybe thousands of innocent motorists were getting $225 tickets even when they were driving on the opposite side of a raised median, which is perfectly legal. But the cameras apparently didn’t know that. And BusPatrol didn’t care. Because there was no clear way to contest them, many ticketed drivers just paid the fine. Even on bogus tickets.
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In May, Sheriff Rosie said basta and hit the brakes. She announced on X that she was immediately suspending all citations. And Alonso requested the audit that basically confirmed what everyone suspected: Miami-Dade Public Schools never really vetted BusPatrol before signing on the dotted line. According to the district’s own internal auditor, the BusPatrol contract slipped through a loophole in the district’s procurement rules. Because it was “revenue-generating” and under $50,000 on paper, the deal didn’t have to go through a competitive bid process.
That meant no formal vetting, no references from other school districts, no testimonials. Staff told auditors that they relied on word of mouth and a Google search.
“We found a lack of evidence that BusPatrol and the overall program were sufficiently vetted prior to entering a contract,” the audit says. In plain English: They didn’t do their homework.
Turns out, the so-called turn-key program in one neat package — cameras, ticket processing, coordination with law enforcement, even court services — wasn’t what it was promised to be. The audit said the district “was not prepared for the scope of coordination needed” among the different agencies.
BusPatrol, of course, insists everything was done by the book. In a statement, the company pointed out that the audit confirmed the procurement process followed the rules — technically. But the auditors also “legal” doesn’t mean “smart.”
Superintendent Jose Dotres sent a memo to the schools police chief ordering him to work with the sheriff’s office to “fix the citation review process.” But the scope of the problem — and the lack of due process — was so bad that a class action lawsuit was filed in March against BusPatrol, alleging that Miami-Dade drivers were denied their right to contest the fines. According to a story aired by NBC6, an attorney for the motorists said the program “prioritized revenue generation over rights.”
Ya think? According to the audit, BusPatrol got around $22 million for 10 months of work.
In part, the complaint filed in court says BusPatrol “not only deprived citizens of Miami-Dade of their property without lawful justification, but also enriched the defendants at the expense of the public under questionable legal and ethical circumstances.”
So, just another day in 305 politics?
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BusPatrol wouldn’t explain much. In a statement, the company said the lawsuit was a “frivolous and baseless attempt to undermine a critical student safety issue in Miami.” For details about the saga, company executive Steve Randazzo told reporters only: “You’re going to have to ask the sheriff’s office.”
She’s not your biggest fan, dude.
But don’t worry, BusPatrol has friends in high places. And we don’t mean just State Rep. Vicky López — a potential replacement for Eileen Higgins on the county commission — who ushered the law that allows for Bus Patrol to install cameras in Miami-Dade school buses, and just happens to have her son and her brother-in-law on their payroll.
Since the suspension, as the Herald reported last week, the company has hired two politically connected lobbyists: David “Disgustin’” Custin and Tania Cruz Gimenez. Custin ran school board member Danny Espino’s 2024 campaign — for which Espino paid him more than $56,000 — and also worked for Mary Blanco, who paid him about $106,000. His gravy train in Tallahassee — former Lt. Gov. Jeanette Nuñez and former State House Speaker Jose Oliva — is over, so he’s making his bed at the school board. Hey, he’s gotta sleep somewhere.
Cruz Gimenez, who helped elect Cordero-Stutz — and is now helping Miami District 3 candidate Denise Galvez — is married to Carlos “CJ” Gimenez, who is the son of the congressman but, more importantly for this story, the nephew of School Board Chairwoman Mary Tere Rojas.
Now Espino, Blanco and Rojas are key players in the fate of the BusPatrol program. Shouldn’t they all recuse themselves?
Instead, Espino has become the program’s biggest cheerleaders. At a committee meeting last week, the attorney proposed hiring the Florida Division of Administrative Hearings to handle the ticket challenges virtually. He said the system already works in Hillsborough County and could “provide the sheriff comfort” that there’s due process for drivers. He is sponsoring the revisions proposed to the board Wednesday.
Superintendent Jose Dotres tried to pump the brakes, warning the board not to promise the district would cover the administrative costs of those hearings. “We just have to be very cautious in saying that we are going to bear the cost,” he said.
The board votes on Espino’s proposal Wednesday. The meeting starts at 11 a.m. at the school board meeting downtown, 1450 NE Second Avenue.
Ladra bets there’ll be a lot of hand-wringing and finger-pointing — but not much accountability. Because in Miami-Dade, bad deals like this one always seem to have friends behind the wheel.

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