TRANSPORTATION DEPARTMENT OVERVIEW

Boone County Schools

Agenda

¨ 1:00 – 1:10 Welcome and Introductions¨ 1:10 – 1:55 Department Overview + Questions

¨ 1:55 – 2:30 Facility Tour

¨ 2:30 Questions and Follow-Up

Welcome and Introductions

Department Overview

¨ Transportation Department¤ Organization

n Who are we?n Daily Operationsn Statistical Data

¤ Questions

Who are we?

q The average bus driver in Boone County Ky.¤ Two out of three are males

n They have been on the job 8 yearsn Longest tenure is 36 yearsn Shortest tenure is 2 months

n Average age is 59.8 years oldn Youngest is 23n Oldest is 81

Daily Operations

¨ The department is organized into four Districts providing service to 27 schools in our system and 4 private/parochial schools.¤ District 1 – Florence

n 8 schools

¤ District 2 – Burlington/Hebronn 10 schools

¤ District 3 – Unionn 9 schools

¤ District 4 – Special Needs/Preschooln All locations

Daily Operations

¨ Utilize a number of Systems to manage our department needs.

¤ Edu-Log is our logistics software which allows us to route buses and assign students to stops.n We maintain approximately 1000 runs on any given dayn The student data is linked to Infinite Campus and downloads nightly to

Edu-Log.n Students are assigned to stops, stops are assigned to routes and

routes are assigned to schools.n Buses are assigned to routes.

n Based on the stops and travel times, the system calculates an estimated time.

¤ TOM – Field Trip Management

¤ Team works – Inventory/Maintenance Management

Daily Operations

GPS and Radios are on all of our buses.

Statistical Data

¤ As of the 2018-2019 school year we drove a total of 2,848,351 miles (6 round trips to the moon)n Approximately 10,200+ miles per bus

¤ We used 469,938 gallons of diesel fueln 1,887 gallons per bus

¤ Maintain and operate 275 school busesn The shop has 14 employees who maintain the fleet

n 11 mechanics, 2 support staff, 1 secretary and 1 supervisor

¤ Transport 80-85% of our studentsn 17,000 students to and from school daily (2018-2019)

¤ Recruit, Train and Test on average 30-40 drivers each year.

Statistical Data

¨ Transportation Department Headcount

¤ Drivers 233 out of 272

¤ Aides 54 out of 56

¤ Office/Staff 32 out of 33n Total of 42 positions open

¨ Additional programs and services

¤ Support 4 parochial/private schools

¤ Gateway Community College

¤ V-School

¤ Home Builders

¤ Fire Science

¤ Field Trips and Sporting Events

¤ McKinney-Vento

General Budget 2020-2021

¨ Total FY budget allocation for the 2020-2021 school year was $3,436,153.55

¨ Budget is divided into 5 operational areas¤ Staff Development $5,871.00

¤ Directors Office $598,169.20n Pupil Transportation Insurance $525,000.00

¤ Bus Driving Special ED $2.251.00

¤ Bus Driving $1,066,542.16n New Buses $1,000,000.00

¤ Bus Maintenance $1,763,320.18n Diesel Fuel $1,100,000.00

¨ 2020-2021 Operational Budget $811,153.55

¨ We were under the $3.436 million annual budget by $783,381.72 (22.79%)

¤ 613,057.23 was from diesel fuel savings

¤ $173,994.74 from the $800k discretionary budget (21.45%)

Questions

¨ Why don’t we have a tracking application like they do in Kenton County?

¤ We have priced a number of systems that has this functionality. The most recent was EduLog Parent Portal with Samsura Telemetrics (GPS) System.

¨ What plans are there for Stop Arm Cameras?¤ All new buses purchased in Boone County from 2019 have Stop Arm Cameras

installed. We will have 35 in our fleet this school year.

¨ What is the process for reporting Stop Arm violations?¤ Drivers report the incident which is turned over to the Sheriff’s Dept.

¤ Sheriff’s Dept. collaborates with us and has ticketed offenders in the past.

¨ What can parents do to help with Stop Arm violations in our neighborhood?

¤ Report the issues to the police/sheriff’s department.

¤ Be a positive force for safety in your neighborhood.¤ Report these concerns as they occur to our office.

¤ Speak with local leaders.

Questions

¨ What steps are being taken to get better consistency with bus routes so buses aren’t late or having to do double runs?

¤ While every effort is being made to optimize runs and reduce daily changes, the simple truth is that with the assets available in the current business climate, these disruptions are often unavoidable. Here is an example of the operational constraints we are facing.n Currently we have 233 drivers on staffn We need to run approx. 245 buses to transport all of our students in one liftn If we have 100% attendance, we are already short 12 drivers

n We average between 5% to 8% absences each dayn On a good day with 5% of the 233 drivers unavailable, we are short

an additional 11 driversn We need to cover 23 routes in order to avoid double runs

n Utilizing office personnel, we can optimally cover 8 routesn We are left with 15 double routes to cover this day.

Questions

¨ I understand that it is a challenge to recruit and retain drivers, if so, what can parents do to be helpful?

¤ As indicated earlier, we are currently short 39 drivers.

¤ Parents can spread the word to anyone in the community that may be interested.

¨ Does Boone County have any initiatives to look at electric or hybrid buses.

¤ While electric buses hold great promise, the current cost is 3 times the cost of a conventional diesel bus and electric buses, depending on the model, have a limited range.

n We will continue to evaluate the industry developments and possible alternate sources of funding concerning electric buses.

¨ What are the best ways for parents to be supportive of the transportation department’s efforts?¤ Follow the existing transportation expectations.

¤ Call with a question before it becomes a major issue.¤ Stay involved with the district and your local school.

Weather Delays

¨ How do you determine if we will have a snow day of a weather delay?

¤ We begin monitoring weather reports and advisories from the National Weather Service.

n The day prior to an anticipated event we prep equipment.n Salt boxes on spreaders are loadedn Ensure all blade equipment is operationaln Adjustments to employee schedules are made

n The morning of the event starts at 02:30 to 03:30 depending on the anticipated weather

n Three individuals from Operations begin driving predetermined routes to observe road conditions

n Coordinate with Boone County Maintenance as requiredn Check lot conditions and roadway conditions

n Consult with Transportation Directors in neighboring districts

n Around 5:00 AM to 5:15 AM a recommendation is made to the Superintendent

n The final call must be made at or before 5:30 AM at the latest

All Day Kindergarten

¨ Will kindergarten students who are dropped off in the evening require a parent or guardian to be at the stop? Yes!

¨ Will kindergartners be seated in the front? What about siblings?

¨ Seating in the bus:

¤ Kindergarten zone

¤ Assigned seating area

Facility Tour