Operations report: district to equip buses with satellite phones; 547 Chromebooks donated; summer meal plan approved

Operations director Lori Dyson reported technology, transportation and nutrition updates to the board on May 14, including a donated set of Chromebooks, plans to equip buses with satellite phones and an approved summer meals program.

Dyson said the district received a donation of 547 Chromebooks and has deployed a new camera in the Estacada High School cafeteria to support safety and lunch monitoring. She also told board members the technology team successfully deployed remote print drivers and is exploring improved visitor check-in applications.

On bus communications, Dyson said the district will purchase satellite phones for routes that travel through areas without cell coverage after a bus breakdown during a basketball trip exposed a communications gap. She described that incident in the meeting: "We had a bus breakdown in between the Warm Springs Reservation and coming home, due to a wreck that had occurred ... where our kids were at that time was out of cell phone service." Dyson said two satellite phones will be assigned to transportation and one will be kept at the district office; she said the devices will also help in large parent-reunification events when cellular networks can be overwhelmed.

Nutrition updates included the district's first Oregon Department of Education administrative review since 2021, a community eligibility provision (CEP) application in progress for 2025—26, and an approved summer food program with three sites planned: breakfast and lunch in the Estacada High School cafeteria, lunch at a local park/skate-park splash pad site, and a grab-and-go station in a parking lot across from the fire station. Dyson said she also purchased state-grown items under the farm-to-school grant and ran a student survey that yielded more than 200 responses about lunch preferences.

Transportation equipment arrivals included a new 20-passenger Bluebird Vision bus with air conditioning and a wheelchair lift and new two-way radios being installed across the fleet, Dyson said. Maintenance and facilities notes included seismic project abatement work beginning during the May break, HVAC servicing for summer and new seating arriving for students.

Dyson invited board questions about operations and safety; when asked why satellite phones were needed she reiterated the breakdown example and said the devices are intended for emergency purposes and to ensure coordination with emergency services when cell coverage is absent or infrastructure is overloaded.

No formal board action was recorded on the operations items; the board acknowledged the report and proceeded to other agenda items.