CLARKESVILLE, Ga. – A decade-old agreement governing Habersham County’s school bus stop-arm camera program says the sheriff’s office is supposed to review recorded violations and decide whether citations should be issued. Sheriff Robin Krockum says his office is doing neither.
Instead, records reviewed by Now Georgia show Habersham County Schools Police, led by Chief Murray Kogod, has been handling the program and approving citations under an agreement that does not mention the school police department at all.
The discrepancy surfaced after a Habersham County resident complained to Now Georgia about a $1,050 stop-arm citation. The citation identifies an Originating Agency Identifier, or ORI, belonging to the Habersham County Sheriff’s Office, but lists Victoria Hopper, an officer with Habersham County Schools Police, as the issuing officer.
Krockum says that the program is not operating through his agency.
“I was unaware of this contract, and the sheriff’s office is not approving or issuing these stop-arm tickets,” Krockum told Now Georgia. “I have not signed this agreement as sheriff.”
Agreement assigns enforcement to sheriff’s office
The 2016 document obtained from the county tells a markedly different story about how the program was designed to operate.
The Intergovernmental Agreement (IGA) is between the Habersham County School District, Habersham County and the Habersham County Sheriff’s Office. A specific section of the agreement assigns responsibility for enforcement directly to the sheriff’s office. It requires qualified deputies or staff to review recorded images within 48 hours and electronically make the final determination whether enough evidence exists to print and mail a citation.
Gatekeeper Systems described the same arrangement when it announced the Habersham contract in October 2016. The company said it would administer the program from the violation through payment, while the sheriff’s office would be responsible for “approving or rejecting violations.”
None of that is happening through HCSO today, according to Krockum.
“I have not assigned deputies to review these citations, and we are not verifying or approving them,” he said. “We’ve received a few complaints about the tickets, and I’m looking into it.”
Krockum also said he is unaware of any contested camera citations being processed through the court system.
No written amendment explains shift in authority
The sheriff’s statement creates a central question: How did the authority assigned to HCSO in 2016 move to the school police department?
No amendment provided to Now Georgia answers that question.
The agreement says obligations cannot be assigned without the written consent of the parties and says changes must be made through a mutually agreed written amendment. The school police department is not identified anywhere in the agreement.
Krockum’s signature does appear on the 2016 agreement, but not as sheriff. At the time, he was Demorest police chief and signed with other municipal police chiefs. Then-Sheriff Joey Terrell signed on behalf of HCSO.
Kogod took over as Habersham County Schools’ director of safety in March 2023 and “technically” became school police chief. Then-Superintendent Matthew Cooper told the board that the school police department had never been formally disbanded and still existed on paper, even though it had stopped operating. Kogod was initially its only employee.
That history is now significant because the school system has been unable to produce records requested by Now Georgia showing the original re-formation of the department or related filings with the Georgia Peace Officer Standards and Training Council or Georgia Bureau of Investigation.
Records show more than $30,000 billed to motorists
Every citation listed in the January 2024 through August 2026 RS Ticket Processing report was issued after Kogod took control of school police.
The report lists $29,000 in violation penalties and another $1,450 in 5% processing fees, bringing the amount billed to motorists to $30,450. It lists $10,500 as paid and $19,950 outstanding.
Recent $1,000 citations carry an additional $50 processing fee. For the three July payments fully itemized in the report, Gatekeeper receives the entire $50 fee plus $500 of the citation, while the school district receives $500. That gives Gatekeeper $550 of each $1,050 payment — the larger share.
Separate school accounting records provided to Now Georgia show $15,549.15 in Gatekeeper “bus citations” revenue credited to the school system since 2017.
The citation provided by the complaining Demorest resident was among those paid in July, according to the vendor records.
Questions surrounding program stretch back years
Questions surrounding the program stretch back years. In 2021, the school board publicly discussed dropping Gatekeeper in favor of BusPatrol. At the time, officials described a proposed system in which possible violations would still be sent to local law enforcement for final approval and issuance. The board was expected to vote later.
Now Georgia searched the school board minutes currently available on the district’s public website for the Gatekeeper agreement or a transition to BusPatrol, but those online minutes only extend back to 2022.
The original Gatekeeper announcement described an initial five-year contract that automatically renewed for another five years unless either party opted out. The IGA says it runs concurrently with the vendor agreement, including renewal terms.
That leaves a nearly decade-old agreement apparently still guiding a program that is now operating under a different law-enforcement agency than the one the agreement names.
School officials say agreement is being updated
Now Georgia contacted Habersham County Schools (HCS) Superintendent Patrick Franklin and Kogod seeking an explanation of the school police department’s authority to approve the citations, its use of the Sheriff’s Office ORI and any updated agreement authorizing the change.
Stephanie Walker, Director of Transportation for HCS, emailed the following statement on behalf of herself and Chief Kogod.
“We are in the process of updating the Intergovernmental Agreement with Gatekeeper Systems, Inc for the Student Protector System to reflect changes in the law and changes in law enforcement leadership within the county, cities, and Board of Education. We are also working with local elected officials to ensure a clear and concise process for all to follow.”
Now Georgia asked whether those cited under the outdated contract would have their tickets canceled or fines refunded, since there appears to be no proper legal authority to issue those citations. We had not received an answer as of this publication.
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