Jackson Public School District transportation staff recommended upgrading the district’s routing software from Tyler Technologies and equipping buses with onboard tablets to support routing, pre-trip inspections and driver directions.

Missus Martin, executive director of transportation, told the board the tablets would live on buses for driver use — to run pre-trip inspections and receive turn-by-turn directions and sub-route assignments — and that the upgrade would replace an older parent app (MyStop) with MyRIDE K12, a two-way communication portal.

Board members asked for detail on contracting terms and data ownership. One board member asked why the district was proposing a single-year agreement. Transportation staff said the one-year term was transitional while administrators attempted to align multiple Tyler contracts and that attorney review would continue over the next 12 months.

Trustees also pressed staff on data-portability and the risk of being locked into a vendor that holds historical routing data. Staff acknowledged concerns and said the vendor is widely used by U.S. districts and that the district’s internal capacity to manage the software has previously been limited; a new partnership with First Student (a transportation operator) was cited as helping to address routing and implementation capacity.

Staff said the upgrade makes the system web-based so authorized staff can make routing adjustments from any location. They also said the vendor’s newer product includes a parent portal with two-way messaging.

No formal board vote on the agreement was recorded in the transcript excerpt; the item was presented for review and discussion. Trustees requested follow-up on data ownership, the planned contract term, and whether the vendor alignment with the district’s enterprise systems could be finalized before a longer-term commitment.