Mount Olive board reviews new bus-tracking app, turf, roofs and safety grant submissions

The Mount Olive Township School District board on July 17 heard updates from Superintendent Dr. Bange on district facilities and a new transportation tracking program that the district piloted this summer.

Dr. Bange told board members the district is moving to a new transportation software suite with a parent-facing mobile app called Stopfinder and an internal tool called Routefinder to let staff and families see bus locations in real time. "It's exactly DoorDash," Dr. Bange said of the parent experience, adding that families who piloted the tool during the Extended School Year have "been raving about it." The district thanked the Transportation Department, Ms. Kozhnowski, the supervisor, and Nicole Schoning, a staff member, for helping run the pilot.

The update also covered facilities work. Dr. Bange said she visited the new turf field that morning and described it as "stunning." She said roof replacement projects are underway at the middle school (CMS) and Mountain View. The board was introduced to the district's new director of facilities management, Michael Cimino; Dr. Bange said Cimino "has hit the ground running" addressing a long list of outstanding projects.

Board members were briefed on multiple grant submissions tied to facilities and safety. The district submitted an application for a School Violence Prevention Program grant that, if accepted, would fund installation of 17 emergency call stations at various district locations. The facilities team and Ms. Schoning are also preparing an application for an infrastructure improvement grant, Dr. Bange said. The finance update noted an RFP for concession and stadium scoreboard revenue services (responses due Aug. 5), and that the district is tracking repairs such as an ACO drain at the high school stadium and a direct-install update at SandShore.

Finance staff reported an administrative change in statewide procurement thresholds: the state raised the public bid threshold from $44,000 to $53,000 and increased the quote threshold to $7,950. The board heard that the change affects when the district must issue RFPs or formal bids for revenue or services tied to stadium advertising and similar contracts.

Why it matters: the new bus-tracking tools are intended to improve communication with families about arrival times and delays, and the safety grant would add emergency call capability at school sites. Facilities projects and procurement threshold changes affect upcoming contracts and how the district solicits vendors.

Board members asked no follow-up questions during the presentation and the items were discussed as part of committee reports and operational updates. The transportation software is in broader rollout planning after the ESY pilot; Dr. Bange said designated staff and building principals will use Routefinder to monitor routes and parents will use Stopfinder to view bus locations for their child's stop.

For context, the district also noted other ongoing facilities and operations items in committee reports: preschool expansion planning, an RFP for concession/scoreboard services, and routine stadium and building repairs. No formal procurement awards for these items were finalized at this meeting; the board was given status updates and instructed staff to continue grant application and procurement work.