Transportation Update Nita Mensia-Joseph, COO Dr. Calvin Frye, Director of Transportation Brian Jones, Executive Director of Information Technology Tim Bullis, Executive Director of Communications Presented to the School Board * August 12, 2019
Overview ● Total number of route packages for general education are lower than before starting time change package numbers. Special education route packages have increased and Transportation is working with SPED to understand why. ● Reinstatement of use of CCPS vehicles is being implemented and expanded where possible for start of school to mitigate reliance on private transportation. ● Accurate information and timely changes or corrections in student information system is key to successful automated student routing -- this is for both schools and parents. ● Cyclical driver shortage experienced every year during the summer remains an issue for the start of school this year. Smaller driver training classes have resulted in higher pass rates, but maintaining a strong pipeline of trainees remains problematic. ● Starting in September, we should experience better traffic control at schools and improved parent information about bus arrival times with My Stop parent app. 2
Route Packages Total number of Route Packages: 507 (tentative) ● General Education 387 routes ( ~20 fewer routes than before starting time change) ● SPED 120 routes (9 more than last year; ~16 more route packages than before starting time change) ○ 101 CCPS SPED and 22 private placement packages (12 private transportation packages not included*) ○ Reconciling transportation requirements in Synergy ○ Working with SPED staff to confirm student requirements for a special bus *12 students (resulting in 12 route packages) require private transportation per the IEP often due to factors such as violent behavior, behavior not conducive to traveling with other students, and medical concerns. The cost is ~$800K for the year. 3
Mitigation Efforts 1. Expanded use of “silver” fleet implemented a. 12 CCPS cars - to transport students with IEP requiring a car rather than a bus b. 3 County vans on lease (+1 additional van available in November) - for small student bus loads (1 to 3 students) transported to private placement facilities c. 15 TWA’s - non-CDL drivers d. Net result is that we spend ~$21,000 for cars and ~$140,000 for drivers rather than ~$800,000 in private transportation e. 3 buses are saved with drivers able to support carrying larger loads of students going to private placement facilities 2. Driver recruitment program for former drivers - early results are very favorable 3. Implementing the use of “second waves” - total of 24 second wave routes 4
Student Database - Synergy and SPED ● Issues ○ Multiple sources and modes of dissemination exist for student information (i.e. Google Sheets, Handwritten Documents). ○ Many fields are not being used within Synergy. ● Result ○ Variability, hand entry, and dispersed data sets significantly decrease efficiency and increase the risk of errors. ● Recommendation ○ Utilize available fields in Synergy to store student data, eliminating other methods intended to communicate updates and changes. ● Gains ○ Automation capacity would increase. ■ Exports from Synergy would be the “Source of Truth” for making routing decisions ■ Reports generated from Synergy would have a broader scope and analytical possibilities. 5
Data Exchange Between Synergy and Versatrans ● Issue ○ Fields and values across the platforms vary in meaning and use. ● Result ○ Increases the difficulty to set parameters and criteria needed for automation. ● Recommendations ○ Identify and map fields and values across both platforms. ○ Define common uses and meanings that suit the needs of all users. ● Gains ○ Automation capacity would increase. ■ Identification of Open Enrollment, Designated Program, and Unfulfilled Request Counts within Versatrans ■ Establishment of defined criteria for making routing decisions. ■ Imports from Versatrans into Synergy would save a significant amount of time at the school level by eliminating the necessity to manually enter bus numbers and determine bus stop information. 6
Parent Responsibilities ● Issue ○ Address changes have to be verified by policy. ● Result ○ Decreases transportation’s ability to promptly adjust routes. ● Recommendations ○ Identify data that may be made available to parents to make direct changes - other than address changes. ○ Inform parents that address verifications may slow the routing process for their child. ● Gains ○ Parents may conveniently update most information more timely and efficiently. ○ Parents may view their own information and identify errors for correction. ○ Schools benefit from decreased data entry and increased ability to communicate using the most up-to-date contact information. 7
Parent Communication Plan ● Data collection re: accurate pickup/dropoff information ○ Developed collection tool to capture updated information ○ Communicated survey information to parents electronically, via schools, via media and through hard-copy surveys in schools/public libraries ○ Provided information to county government’s Hispanic liaison for dissemination within the county 8
Parent Communication Plan ● Data outcomes ○ Out of approximately 57,000 students (minus incoming kindergarten students), CCPS has obtained information for approximately 28,000 students ● Hurdles faced ○ Time of year survey implemented ○ Privacy concerns re: data collection ○ Reaching Spanish-speaking population 9
Parent Communication Plan ● Upcoming work ○ Create understanding of need for knowledge of student identification number ○ Post created bus routes to website ○ Introduce E-Link to parents -- including listing of steps to access and video tutorial ○ Introduce My Stop app to parents 10
Internal Communication Plan Driver plan components: 1. Driver meetings were held in May and June with positive feedback 2. FAQ provided to drivers based on driver questions received 3. Inservice is currently underway Principals meeting on August 13th to review: 1. Support of drivers with discipline 2. Loading and unloading buses 3. Field trip procedures and process 4. Second waves 5. Using e-Link and My Stop 11
Staffing Contract Provisional Total June 2018 458 10 468 September 2018 480 10 490 June 2019 502 0 502 August 2019 480 2 482 ● In the training pipeline: 11 currently in training class, 26 interviewed but not yet scheduled (Expected success rate is ~65% to 75% yielding approximately 24 to 27 drivers if all attend the training) ● Job Fairs scheduled: July 25, 2019 at North Chesterfield Library, August 15, 2019 at Meadowdale Library, August 23-31, 2019 Recruitment Table at the Chesterfield County Fair ● Efforts are underway to recruit drivers that left CCPS and are eligible for rehire ● Hiring 3rd Area Office Coordinator to primarily support payroll to address audit findings, field trips, and incoming calls 12
Traffic Control ● All 15 SSO's will conduct traffic support at the high schools they are assigned in mornings and afternoons. ○ 19 elementary schools will conduct traffic control support, two of these will be mega trailer sites. (2 AM only and 2 PM only) ○ 4 middle school will have (hub) support mornings only. ○ 1 (one) high school will have (hub) support mornings only. ● Police Officers will be assigned to the remaining schools that are deemed “hot spots.” ○ Evaluate any additional coverage after the first week of school beyond what SSO’s will provide. 13
Current Challenges 1. Wait time for bus maintenance at garage site and driver overtime versus the number of spares on hand as well as the process of assigning spares. 2. Increased maintenance costs for buses due to blown engines, damaged seats, and GPS systems. 3. Increased number of special education routes. 4. Increases in the number of SPED students requiring private transportation in their IEP. 5. Reinstatement of a decentralized Field Trip process that satisfies the internal audit recommendations. 6. Changes to routes creating anxiety. 14
BUDGET 1. Per Finance, preliminary end-of-year results for 2019 suggest that Transportation would have come in ~ $500K over budget. This year, bi-monthly meetings are occurring with Budget and Transportation to closely monitor results. Buses will be ordered before September using 2019 funding. 2. Salary savings may be impacted as a result of changes made within existing budget funding to address and/or correct issues regarding auxiliary trainer pay, administrative workload, additional SPED aids, and the need for an additional transportation coordinator for each area office to address payroll audit findings, field trips, and incoming calls. 3. Overtime will be reduced this year as a result of: a. Eliminating the use of drivers to perform non-routine duties during the summer. b. Better monitoring of time sheets with added area office support. 4. Impacts yet to be quantified are SPED students requiring private transportation and total cost of increased bus maintenance. 15
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