Transportation year‑end review: on‑time mornings at 99.2% after staffing and routing changes; new routing software rollout limited to summer programs

Jefferson County Public Schools transportation leaders told the board on June 24 that morning on‑time arrival averaged 99.2% for the 2024–25 school year, a sharp improvement from the prior year, and that missed instructional minutes fell from more than 9.7 million to about 640,000.

Dr. Fulk and Marcus Dobbs presented the year‑end review and credited changes to compensation, route construction and operational procedures for the improvement. The presenters said two main outcomes drove the decrease in disruption: reducing the number of students impacted by late service by over 50% and reducing the average late time for students who were late by over 90%.

Staff described operational changes this year: expanded pre‑start route checks so drivers felt comfortable with routes before students rode, a pause period to avoid last‑minute route construction, a centralized routing team, a 48‑hour driver adjustment turnaround for exceptional‑needs routes, multiple driver surveys (six this year) and an improved process for 485‑ride calls. The district reported it has 616 bus drivers on the books, expects about 15 retirements over the summer, and said a July 7 training class will start with 40 new trainees; an additional 31 applicants are in the pipeline. Presenters estimated roughly 85% net retention from the July 7 class and noted application‑to‑recommendation time could be reduced from about 28 days to as little as 14–20 days with streamlined “blitz” events.

On routing software, the district said it selected Traversa (a vendor in operation since 1984 used by large districts) after a multi‑vendor review. The district emphasized a cautious rollout: for 2025–26 the software will be used only for summer school and the district’s ECE (early childhood education) population during the soft rollout; regular education routing will not be transitioned until district staff are fully confident in the system. Board members raised continued interest in revisiting start‑time structure (multiple start times) to reduce late‑arrival pressures; staff said double and triple run schedules, which had been used historically to run fewer drivers across more runs, produce excessive late end‑times for some schools and were not recommended as a return strategy.

After the presentation Miss Duncan moved and Miss Lister seconded a motion to receive the transportation update; the board approved the motion by voice vote (“Ayes have it”). Board members thanked transportation staff, HR and route coordinators for the turnaround and asked staff to continue efforts to attract drivers and consider start‑time options in future planning.