Lewisville ISD presented a plan to transition pupil transportation from contract operations to in‑house management, outlining driver hiring, new routing and tracking technology, and safety measures trustees asked to watch closely.

Dana Chandler, who is leading the new transportation department, told the Board the district has received applications from about 187 drivers, 97 monitors and eight sub‑drivers and is processing hires. “We are actually at 187 drivers now that have applied, 97 monitors and 8 sub drivers,” Chandler said, and staff said the district is near its initial hiring goals for the coming school year.

Technology and operations: District staff said they will retain Transfinder for routing and move to Transfinder Plus for turn‑by‑turn directions. Chandler said the district purchased ZoneAR GPS software to provide real‑time bus tracking, telematics and a parent app; the new system will ping bus positions every 10 seconds rather than every 2–3 minutes under the prior setup.

“We will be able to move forward with Transfinder Plus…our new software will be pinging every 10 seconds,” Chandler told the board, describing shorter delays for parent tracking and faster diagnostic alerts for maintenance.

Student accountability and safety: The district is piloting student RFID boarding to track on/off events using students’ existing ID badges, with campus dashboards intended to show arrivals and departures. Chandler said the RFID will be proximity‑based and drivers will hear an alert when an expected student taps on. “They would use their student ID badges that they currently carry, and then they would just, they ping those and the driver gets a notification that they're supposed to be on the bus and they hear a certain sound,” Chandler said.

Capacity and timing: Chandler said the district will phase in turn‑by‑turn testing after routes are finalized and that hardware for ZoneAR tablets and pre/post trip electronic inspections has been ordered and will be installed in the next two weeks. She estimated the district could begin turn‑by‑turn operations about two months after school starts (October), once drivers are trained and routing tested.

Board questions and concerns: Trustees pressed about safety checks and ‘child check’ procedures after the district described additional electronic checks, and asked whether bus lot traffic and circulation at the new transportation center had been resolved. District staff said traffic flow plans are in place for Duncan Lane and adjacent drives but agreed to monitor event‑day interactions with high school traffic.

Costs and hiring timeline: Chandler said the district is using bond proceeds and general funds to equip the in‑house fleet and has ordered three service trucks and other maintenance equipment. She said the contractor’s fleet remains under contract through July 31 and that the district needs to complete onboarding steps prior to that turnover.

Next steps: Staff will continue onboarding drivers and monitors, roll out hardware and software, finalize hazardous route designations and continue training; trustees requested regular updates on student accountability integrations and on‑time performance.