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Acadia Parish reports new buses, upgraded cameras and pilot parent notifications ahead of school year
Summary
District transportation officials told the Acadia Parish Scribe Board the fleet is nearly ready for fall: eight new buses arrived, most vehicles have been serviced, camera and radio upgrades are underway and a district-built parent notification pilot is being tested.
Acadia Parish transportation officials reported to the Scribe Board that they have bolstered fleet readiness and rolled out new technology aimed at improving safety and communication before the start of the school year. The director said eight new buses were received and that camera systems and two-way radios are being installed, with a goal of 100% camera functionality by the first day of classes.
The director said 80% of the fleet has been serviced and that 9 of 15 identified buses with peeling hoods have been repainted so far. Staff plan to have spare buses and standby drivers placed across the parish in Church Point, Rayne, Iota and Crowley to cover no-shows or mechanical failures on the first day.
Officials described Beacon Connect, the district’s online interface for managing video requests and conduct reports, and said Acadia Parish ranked among the highest users of the platform in corporate usage metrics. The director said the district is piloting a bus-notification feature that lets parents enroll and set a geofence to receive an alert when a bus is approaching. A later feature under discussion would notify parents when a child boards and disembarks the bus; staff said developers are exploring using in-bus tablets and driver checks to support that function.
On staffing, the director reported a 97% driver retention rate over the summer with only two departures (one termination, one voluntary resignation) and one open route that has a driver in training expected to be ready before school starts. The director also described a new dispatch and payroll software that links GPS with dispatch to generate automatic notifications when buses run late and has reduced manual payroll work.
Board members asked whether paint and body work are handled in-house; staff said warranty work is reimbursed by the vendor and that third-party shops perform paint jobs. A board member suggested local vendors as alternatives for nonwarranty work. The director said the district is continuing pilot tests of the notification features and expects phased rollouts contingent on testing outcomes.
