Spring Valley district struggles with bus‑pass rollout after transportation software migration

The Spring Valley Board of Education heard extended questions and complaints Wednesday evening about a troubled migration to a new transportation software system that has delayed or produced incorrect bus passes for many students in the district. District officials told the board they have worked nights and weekends to clean data and print passes and that most problems have been corrected, but parents and principals reported remaining errors and confusion about routes, school assignments and how to access passes. The issue matters because school start dates are imminent for different buildings and parents need reliable pick‑up and dismissal information to plan child care and travel. Interim district leaders described the cause as a data migration and vendor errors tied to the district’s new system. Eric Stark, the assistant superintendent for business, said staff and the vendor have been working through data issues and printing and mailing passes: “By the end of this day, I’d like to say that we have cleared up probably 98% of the problems.” He added that a small number of students still may not have received passes and that staff continue to work through hotline calls. District actions to address the problem include a transportation hotline (845‑577‑6498) staffed during business hours, email rosters and temporary pass information sent to school administrators, and instructions for parents to use the MyRide K12 app (sometimes referred to in board remarks as MyRide K–12 or the Bridal K12 app) if they have a student ID. Officials said they also used mail‑merge emails to parents whose contact information is in the district system. Board members and parents raised several specific problems: printed passes with incorrect stops or times; duplicate passes sent on different dates; students routed to different schools without clear parent notification; and families who had not received any pass or roster. District staff said some errors stemmed from a contractor (identified in the meeting as IMS) that runs per‑pupil routes and issued many incorrect printed passes. The district also reported that some data in the system shifted unexpectedly during migration, producing incorrect rosters or stop assignments. On reimbursement for parents who needed to provide their own transportation, the board was told staff will check with district counsel and that there is a parent transportation reimbursement instruction posted on the district website describing a modest reimbursement used in a past year. A board member said that reimbursement occurred “last year” but that the amount was minimal; staff said they would confirm the district’s current authority and past practice with the attorney. Staff asked parents to check email (including spam folders), the MyRide K12 app, and to contact their school principals, who have received bus rosters and can print temporary passes. Officials said principals and the transportation office were prioritizing schools that start earlier (some campuses begin before others) and that kiosks and staff help would be available at the district’s back‑to‑school fair. Discussion vs. direction vs. decision: the transcript shows extended discussion and staff reporting; the board did not take formal new policy action on transportation that evening. The district provided operational directions (hotline, mailings, rosters to principals) and said it would check legal authority regarding reimbursements. Speakers who addressed the transportation topic during the meeting include: the interim superintendent (identified in the transcript only by title), Eric Stark (Assistant Superintendent for Business), President Rose (board president, who asked questions and made procedural motions), and several trustees and staff who asked follow‑up questions and requested updates. Officials acknowledged the rollout was not flawless, said they had ramped up staffing (several additional hotline lines and staff working to print passes at the transportation office), and asked parents who still lack accurate information to call the hotline or visit their school to obtain temporary passes. They did not provide a firm single‑day deadline for complete resolution but said work was ongoing and that most passes had been mailed or posted. What to watch next: whether the district’s follow‑up with Tyler Technologies (the new software vendor mentioned in discussion), corrective actions by any routing contractors, and a written clarification on reimbursement and the timeline for full resolution are posted to the district website.