Board and committee members reported that the district’s bus vendor, First Student, operates multiple safety and monitoring systems and parents can track buses through the FirstView (First Student) app.

Board Member Becker summarized information the committee received about First Student’s safety practices, including background checks, a safety department, two to three cameras per bus with random footage audits, driver reporting requirements and an iDrive app that monitors driving habits and GPS to detect unscheduled stops. "They have policies in place, like a one strike policy for some violations," Becker said when describing the vendor report.

Becker and other committee members encouraged parents to download and use the FirstView app to monitor bus locations and reduce calls to the transportation office about whether a bus is running late. "We're encouraging all of our parents to please use the app to track buses," a committee representative said. Another board member noted that the app worked well in the prior year for their children.

No formal action was taken; the committee reported it will continue oversight and will follow up with the vendor as needed.