North Penn School District Transportation Department Budget Executive - PDF document

North Penn School District Transportation Department Budget Executive Summary The Transportation Department strives to provide exceptional service to all students that reside within the 44 square miles encapsulating North Penn School District. The goal of the department is to provide safe and efficient transportation to the students, doing so with a smile on our face. This includes all 18 North Penn schools, and all non-public schools within a 10-mile radius of the district boundaries. All bus drivers of the department undergo a rigorous training period, including 14 hours of classroom instruction, six hours of behind-the-wheel training and must pass written and road tests in order to obtain their Commercial Driver’s License with a School Bus Endorsement. For the past eight years, the Transportation budget has remained relatively stable. This stability in the budget can be attributed to many factors, including consolidation of Non-public School Bus Routes and the reduction of district-owned vehicles, the transition of Public School Bus Routes to a contractor, a reduction in the North Penn vehicle fleet and the transition to a payroll system to a system based on Daily Schedules verified by GPS. All of these cost saving initiatives are happening as the cost to transport a North Penn Student is above the state average. The department is efficient with the resources that it has available, but there are opportunities to be more resourceful with regards to the district-owned fleet, strategic routing, further utilizing a bus contractor and better managing staffing costs. There is a substantial difference in the cost of transporting public school students using district-owned transportation versus utilizing a busing contractor. The average cost to operate a district owned vehicle is roughly $70,000. To operate a contracted bus through First Student, the cost is roughly $45,000. As full- time, benefitted drivers retire or leave their job for any other reason, First Student is offered the right of first refusal. In the current school year, First Student provides 16 Public School buses, totaling a savings of about $400,000. First Student also services all of the non-public schools, a total of 41 schools and 37 buses, which results in a savings of $925,000 per year, as opposed to using district-owned busing. With the acceptance of the Driving PA Forward Grant money, the district will decrease our fuel and maintenance costs over time. Additionally, a portion of the requirement to fully comply with the grant is that for each bus purchased, one diesel bus must be decommissioned. Purchasing new buses and decommissioning old ones will reduce the average age of our fleet, currently 12.6 years. In addition to the financial benefits of propane, such as reduced fuel and maintenance costs, it also burns clean. By reducing the overall greenhouse emissions of our fleet, students, staff and the entire North Penn community will reap the environmental benefits, increasing the quality of life of all of the residents. Propane buses also run quieter, decreasing bad behavior on the bus. The transition from a time clock to a system based on driver schedules verified by GPS has shown the district great savings. Drivers and aides are now paid based upon their official schedule, which is verified by GPS at the beginning of the school year. The SkyBitz GPS system allows us to easily document and verify driver hours. Skybitz also allows for the monitoring of engine idling, posted speed notifications, engine diagnostic issues and fuel consumption, all data which allow us to analyze and make necessary changes to reduce spending. The transportation department is examining ways to integrate GPS with apps for parents to track the location of their children’s buses. All Public school buses, including First Student buses, are equipped with video/ audio surveillance systems. These tools allow the bus ride to be safer and more secure. In the event of a behavior issue or vandalism, the camera provides valuable evidence for administrators to use for discipline. Cameras also provide a deterrent for this type of behavior. The camera systems have proven to be very valuable in instances of vehicular accidents as well.

North Penn School District Transportation Department 2019-2020 Budget Overview and Historical Retrospective

North Penn Transportation Department Overview • Driver Personnel: • 75 Full-Time, benefit-eligible Bus Drivers, Van Drivers and Bus Aides • 88 Part-Time/ Substitute Bus Drivers, Van Drivers and Bus Aides • Office Staff • 3 Full-Time Routing Specialists • 1 Full-Time Dispatch Supervisor • 1 Full-Time Department Secretary • 1 Full-Time Field Trip Coordinator/ Lead Driver Trainer/ Bus Driver • Garage/ Vehicle Maintenance Staff • 1 Full-Time Mechanic Supervisor • 5 Full-Time Mechanics

North Penn Transportation Department Overview • Public School Vehicles (NPSD): 134 • Public School Vehicles (First Student): 16 • Public School Students Transported: 11,087 • Non-Public School Vehicles (First Student): 37 • Non-Public School Vehicles (Tropiano): 14 • Non-Public School Students Transported: 1,800 • Non-Public Schools Serviced: 41 • Total Annual Miles Driven (2017-2018): 2,468,586 • Total Annual Fuel Consumption (2017-2018): 255,946 Gallons

Automated Field Trip Management Solution • Three trainings held in August for submitters at each school • 1310 trips scheduled as of 2/26/19 • Saves time for submitters/ approvers- One-click approval • Secure, centralized access for personnel to track submissions, approvals and field trip rosters • Tracks mileage to optimize fleet utilization • Invoices emailed directly to the submitter for accurate billing

Vehicle Operations • Average age of current NPSD fleet is 12.6 years old • Some buses as old as 22 years (1997) • Buying parts is difficult due to availability and parts being obsolete • Huge need for 30-passenger Micro • Requesting $1M new buses for 2019-2020 • At $1M per year, full fleet will not be replaced until approximately 2032 • PO has been issued for 6 new Blue Bird Wheelchair Buses

Propane-Fueled Fleet • Two grants were awarded to NPSD in 2018-2019 • AFIG Grant for propane infrastructure- $155,000 • Driving PA Forward Grant for new propane vehicles- $459,000 • 4 Buses could not meet delivery deadline, so we posted a new bid for buses that would be able to be delivered by the deadline. • Request for Proposal for installation of the infrastructure (propane tank, pump, dispenser, electrical, etc.) will be released to vendors in March • Once first round of vehicles are delivered, grant will be closed out, and new applications will be submitted for new buses in 2020. ($6M grant funds remain)

Transportation Cost Analysis

Total Expenses 2007-2017

Total Expenses Less Salaries/ Benefits 2007-2017

5-Year Expense Change- All Montgomery County School Districts- Per Student Spending

Line Item Spending Over Time/ Percent of Total District Operating Expenses

Vehicle Cost Analysis

PDE Transportation Subsidy 2006-2017

Similarly-Sized School District Spending

Spending Ranking in PA

Potential for Additional Savings • Transition from half-day to full-day kindergarten: ~$250k • Elimination of Middle School/ High School Late Runs (currently 9 runs): $50,000 • Control overtime costs buy recruiting and hiring more substitute drivers • Continue outsourcing bus runs upon driver retirements/ resignations

19-20 Budget by Location and Note Location: 09 TRANSPORTATION Bud-Title Acct-Title 15-16 16-17 17-18 18-19 18-19 YTD 19-20 Note Amount ACTUAL ACTUAL ACTUAL BUDGET BUDGET 1027110000109000 SUPR 110-00 SALARIES 96,647.00 100,986.00 88,744.48 101,753.00 101,852.00 106,365.00 STUDENT ADMIN TRANSPORTION 1027110000109000 SUPR 115-00 LEAVE 4,126.77 0.00 16,469.20 0.00 0.00 0.00 STUDENT PAY-OUT TRANSPORTION 1027110000109000 SUPR 116-00 EMP INS 2,600.00 2,600.00 2,024.18 0.00 375.00 0.00 STUDENT OPT OUT TRANSPORTION 1027110000109000 SUPR 150-00 CLERICAL 38,435.40 39,401.46 41,608.68 43,524.00 43,515.00 45,882.75 STUDENT SALARIES TRANSPORTION 1027110000109000 SUPR 152-00 CLERICAL 7,163.02 6,202.13 3,970.86 0.00 3,866.55 0.00 STUDENT SUBS TRANSPORTION 1027110000109000 SUPR 153-00 CLERICAL 0.00 0.00 23.84 200.00 0.00 0.00 STUDENT OVERTIME TRANSPORTION 100-00 - Total 148,972.19 149,189.59 152,841.24 145,477.00 149,608.55 152,247.75 1027110000109000 SUPR 213-00 LIFE 351.00 369.18 338.40 377.08 377.30 390.80 STUDENT INSURANCE TRANSPORTION 1027110000109000 SUPR 214-00 INCOME 434.88 452.81 439.97 496.17 291.13 521.19 STUDENT PROTECTION TRANSPORTION 1027110000109000 SUPR 220-00 SOCIAL 10,892.77 10,838.97 9,711.50 11,124.24 10,501.21 11,658.25 PERS BUDGET AMNT 11,658.25 STUDENT SECURITY TRANSPORTION 1027110000109000 SUPR 230-00 36,232.23 43,812.29 43,756.98 48,566.10 49,888.81 52,205.75 PERS BUDGET AMNT 52,205.75 STUDENT RETIREMENT TRANSPORTION 1027110000109000 SUPR 260-00 WORKERS 2,155.57 2,291.97 2,103.76 1,783.00 1,716.56 1,783.00 WORKERS COMP 1,783.00 STUDENT COMP TRANSPORTION 1027110000109000 SUPR 271-00 SELF INS 21,149.55 26,804.18 30,791.32 30,450.68 30,450.68 30,227.08 STUDENT MEDICAL TRANSPORTION BENEFITS 1027110000109000 SUPR 272-00 SELF INS 1,407.48 1,944.96 1,999.23 1,743.56 1,743.56 1,925.30 STUDENT DENTAL BENEFITS TRANSPORTION - 1 -