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Board awards transportation software and RFID rider‑tracking contract to Zoom after questions about cost and staff impacts
Summary
The board voted to award a comprehensive transportation technology contract (routing, driver tablets, parent app, RFID student check‑in) to Zoom after staff said the system will consolidate multiple tools and that the five‑year contract totals roughly $1,000,000; trustees pressed staff on cost, funding and union impacts.
Stockton Unified trustees voted to award a comprehensive transportation technology contract to Zoom, a vendor staff selected through an RFP process, after a staff presentation and extended Q&A.
What was proposed: District transportation staff and a Zoom representative described a single platform to combine routing, GPS tracking, driver tablets with turn‑by‑turn navigation, parent mobile app, student swipe (RFID) check‑in/out and dashboards for administrators, dispatchers and parents. Kristen Howell of Zoom highlighted parent feedback features — including ride‑rating and two‑way communication — and a driver app that displays student‑specific instructions for students with health or behavioral needs.
Board questions and funding: Trustees pressed staff for price and fund sources. Trustee Angel Ann Flores said she was concerned about staff impacts and said she had not yet reviewed vendor lists; transportation staff and the superintendent said the district would use transportation grant funding and replace several piecemeal contracts with a single platform. During discussion staff said the five‑year contract is roughly $1,000,000 total (presented as about $151,156,000 in garbled segments; staff clarified the total is approximately $1,000,000 over five years and that the first‑year cost is in the low‑hundreds of thousands range). Trustee Flores said she would vote for the item but asked staff to proceed cautiously and to guard staff jobs; staff said the platform is intended to improve efficiency and not reduce router/planner positions.
Vote and next steps: After comments and clarifications, trustees moved and seconded the award; the motion passed by roll call. Staff said implementation would begin before the school year to enable parent and driver features and that a phased rollout would follow so parents could see student ride status and the district could retire overlapping vendors.
Sources and evidence: This summary reflects the district presentation, remarks by Zoom representatives and trustees’ questions and votes as recorded in the meeting transcript.
