Richland 2 board hears transportation operations update; district pilots RFID bus ID at two elementary summer sites

At the June 10, 2025, meeting of the Richland 2 board of trustees, district operations staff gave a detailed update on student transportation that included fleet size and age, staffing levels, safety measures and a summer pilot of Tyler Drive RFID bus identification at two elementary schools.

The briefing, led by Will Anderson, Chief of Operations for Richland 2, and transportation staff, outlined the district's mix of state‑owned and district‑owned buses, recent purchases made with bond funds and ongoing efforts to recruit drivers and reduce safety risks. "For the time in a very long time, we are almost a 100 staffed, across the board," Anderson told the board.

Why it matters: transportation is among the district's largest operational systems and affects daily safety, school arrival times and the district budget. The presentation identified near‑term cost pressures and operational changes that could affect routes, staffing and special programs.

District and fleet facts

Jasmine James, the district's transportation routing and GIS specialist, explained the district's stop‑eligibility rules and how they differ from statewide guidance. "We do give that 0.5 mileage to our students. The state of South Carolina is 2 miles," James said, describing Richland 2's 1.5‑mile eligibility standard for regular transportation. She also noted the district treats certain closely spaced stops as hazardous; the staff uses criteria that include student age, roadway conditions and sidewalk availability when setting stops.

Operations staff provided these figures: the district's buses collectively travel about 791 miles a day; buses logged roughly 16,044,864 miles in the year cited (equivalent, staff said, to about 644 trips around the Earth). The district operates 45 Richland 2 buses; additionally, the state owns 151 buses used in the area, 37 of which run on propane, staff said. Bond funding has allowed the district to buy 25 buses in the last four to five years, but 22 Richland 2 buses still fall in a 10–24 year age range and the district follows a roughly 15‑year replacement cycle for district‑owned buses.

Maintenance, training and safety measures

Frank Celestine, manager at RUSA Northeast, and other operations staff described maintenance and safety systems: cameras with live view on buses, stop‑arm camera enforcement partnerships with highway patrol, and an in‑district driver training program run by Jody Regis and certified trainers that helps prospective drivers obtain CDLs and meet Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration and state DMV requirements. "Once you have your permit, they will train you to get your CDL," the presentation said of the district training program.

Staff also highlighted increasing charges tied to at‑fault incidents and hazard‑stop mitigation: the South Carolina Department of Education waived an invoice of $86,623 last year that would otherwise have been due, operations staff said, but similar waivers may not be available in 2025–26. "Moving forward this year in the next 25, 26 school year, that aspect will not be waived this year," a transportation manager told the board.

RFID pilot and rider notifications

The board saw a demonstration of a Tyler Drive RFID card pilot the district is running this summer at Windsor Elementary and Sanloper Elementary. James showed video of the school‑bus tablet interface: when a student scans, the driver sees the student profile; parents receive a notification when a student scans on or off. The district emphasized the system is intended to prevent students from boarding buses to which they are not assigned and to provide families real‑time location updates. James said the card readers were provided at the Department of Education's cost and the student ID cards were paid by the district for the pilot.

Board questions and next steps

Board members asked for more detail on transportation costs and replacement schedules. In response to a question about annual transportation spending, district staff said the state owns buses and covers some fleet costs, but the district pays drivers' salaries, benefits, cameras and routing software. "There are 45 buses we maintain right now, is over a million, at least a million dollars a year. And that's just in the maintenance," a district official said. Trustees requested a more precise tally for a future meeting. Staff also said the district will continue the pilot while collecting data over the summer and workshop the policy for lost or replacement ID cards.

The presentation closed with operations managers describing ongoing recruitment, pre‑ and post‑trip checks, and plans to request additional buses from the state to meet growth in the northeast and Blythewood areas. No formal board action was taken on the policy or on purchasing at the June 10 meeting.