Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Operations Back To School topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Superintendent updates: bus routing glitches, Open Gate security pilots and new state cell‑phone restrictions as school opens
Summary
Interim Superintendent Caddy Moore told the board Aug. 12 that bus assignments remain in flux after a student‑data rollover, the district is rolling out portable Open Gate screening units and two middle schools are piloting clear book bags, and that a new state law prohibits student wireless devices during instructional time.
On Aug. 12 Interim Superintendent Caddy Moore gave the board a multi‑part back‑to‑school operations update covering transportation, campus screening technology, a clear‑bag pilot, cellphone rules and Advanced Placement participation.
Transportation: Moore said summer routing work reassigned many students after the district eliminated prior choice routes. A small number of kindergarten, sixth‑grade and ninth‑grade students were not assigned during the PowerSchool to Infinite Campus rollover; staff are processing parent requests and assigning stops. Families should check the district transportation portal; if a student has not received an assigned stop or a boarding pass, Moore said families must arrange transport to school and staff will attempt to issue a boarding pass while the child is at school.
Open Gate and event policies: The district has expanded use of portable Open Gate walkthrough screening units to all high schools and multiple middle schools through grant funding. Moore said the units are lighter and portable and that the district used one in the board meeting as a demonstration. The district also is enforcing a clear‑bag policy at athletic events and piloting a requirement for clear book bags at Mineral Springs Middle School and Paisley Middle School.
Cellphone policy: Moore described a change required by recent state law, House Bill 959, which prohibits students from using, displaying or having a wireless communication device turned on during instructional time; the district’s existing local policy had allowed devices if a teacher authorized them for instructional purposes, but Moore said the new law removes that teacher‑authorization exception and expands covered devices to include laptops and tablets when used for messaging.
Advanced Placement: Moore reported an increase in AP participation and pass rates districtwide: 6,200 students took AP exams in 2022–23; 6,820 students took APs in 2024–25 (an increase of about 600), and pass rates rose from 72% to 80% between those years.
Discussion versus decision: This was an informational update; the board did not take votes on operational items. Moore said the district will continue to adjust transportation assignments during the first weeks of school and will monitor the clear‑bag pilot and Open Gate deployment.
Ending: Moore asked families to consult the transportation portal and said the district will continue to communicate updates as routes and assignments settle during the opening weeks of school.
