Board approves bus‑tracking system with RFID cards; one trustee votes no over procurement concerns

The board approved a contract to implement a bus‑tracking and student‑RFID system that will equip district buses with GPS, provide drivers with tablets and issue RFID cards for students. District staff said the system will allow parents to see bus locations, confirm when students board or exit, and generate notifications when schedules are delayed.

District staff described an upfront procurement cost (installation, tablets and RFID hardware) in the neighborhood of $143,000 and ongoing annual licensing and support fees of about $45,000; administrators said some existing GPS services would be retired and net new recurring costs are expected to be lower than gross figures quoted. Transport staff said the system is primarily a safety tool to address instances where a child is not at the expected stop or gets on the wrong bus.

Several trustees asked about procurement: board members said they were shown quotes from other providers but the specifications vary widely across companies. One trustee voted no on the item, saying the district should seek more vendor competition and avoid committing substantial annual fees without a broader competitive procurement. The motion, however, carried.

Separately, trustees heard a brief update that the district has recently taken delivery of two electric buses and that site chargers are being installed in phases; district staff said Edison is under contract to install higher‑capacity chargers and that broader infrastructure work will take longer.

The board approved the bus‑tracking contract and directed staff to pursue implementation and parent communication about the new RFID cards and app.