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District outlines bus routes, hotlines and activity buses; commissioners press for clearer communication
Summary
Transportation staff reported route counts, vendor assignments and parent hotline numbers and said the district has activity buses and specialized SPED transportation. Commissioners asked for clearer communication about overloaded buses, preschool transportation gaps and parent-notification response times.
Transportation staff provided a detailed operational briefing Aug. 6, describing vendor responsibilities, route and driver totals, child‑safety features and parent hotlines.
Key operational figures presented - Regular-education transport: Durham School Services will carry approximately 15,300 regular-education students (over 70% of the district’s regular-education ridership); Durham operates about 125 regular routes with roughly 126 drivers on staff, the presentation said. - SPED/All Star: All Star (specialized SPED carrier) will transport approximately 2,000 special-education students on about 60 routes with 64 drivers; special-education buses have monitors and door‑to‑door pickup for students with complex needs. - Activity buses: The district reported 4–5 new activity buses dedicated to sports and extracurricular trips so regular routes are not used for those trips. - Safety and equipment: All buses are reported to have interior/exterior recording cameras with audio, GPS bus tracking, child-check systems and background/fingerprint checks for drivers. - Parent hotlines: The presentation listed two Durham hotline numbers and All Star hotline hours and numbers; staff said they will post hotline numbers on the district website, send ParentSquare notices and share on social media.
Board questions and concerns Commissioners pressed staff about overloads and communications: several raised specific incidents in which students found buses full and had to seek alternative transport. Staff said in cases of overload the vendor (Durham or others) would dispatch an extra bus; commissioners said some problems stem from school-level miscommunication. Commissioners also asked whether the district provides busing for preschool families and were told that while some Pre‑K programs receive busing (notably Career Academy, Sprague and Kingsbury, with verification promised by the transportation office), most Pre‑K sites are walking schools unless a student is eligible for special education transportation. The cost to add a bus was discussed; staff estimated roughly $75,000 per bus (capital/vehicle cost).
Why it matters: Transportation touches thousands of students and families and is operationally complex. Commissioners emphasized prompt and clearer parent notification when buses are delayed or overloaded and asked staff to keep hotline responsiveness and automated messaging prominent in future bids.
Next steps: Transportation staff said they will publish hotline numbers, continue weekly coordination with vendor staff, and include parent-notification and response-time expectations in the next round of contracts and RFP language.
