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District weighs new bus‑routing software that would add live tracking and routing analytics; trustees raise privacy concerns
Summary
Staff proposed purchasing a bus‑routing and student‑boarding system with upfront costs of $45,286, implementation $36,550 and an annual subscription around $20,403; trustees supported efficiency and safety gains but raised privacy and surveillance concerns that staff addressed with vendor security details.
District staff recommended the board consider new bus‑routing software to improve routing efficiency, family communication and real‑time tracking for student transfers.
Staff outlined costs and functions: an initial software purchase of $45,286, implementation and training estimated at $36,550, and an annual subscription around $20,403. The recommended system integrates with PowerSchool, can import existing routes, and supports student scan‑on/scan‑off workflows to produce live data about who is on which bus.
Supporters framed the purchase as a safety and logistics improvement: staff said the system could provide live confirmation that a student is on a bus and enable more precise parent notifications, reduce mis‑loads at transfers and support improved route planning.
Trustees and some meeting participants raised privacy and cultural concerns about increased tracking and the broader trend of surveillance technology in schools. District staff and the transportation representative explained vendor security and data practices: the vendor hosts data in cloud services (the vendor noted use of AWS), uses encryption in transit and at rest, and follows standard security certifications and two‑factor verification for administrative access.
"This will be a step forward in communicating with parents and reducing the risk of a student boarding or disembarking at the wrong stop," staff said. A trustee urged care over student experience, asking whether the system would make transfer interactions feel impersonal; staff said scan workflows would be designed to preserve personal interactions with bus drivers and transfer staff.
Next steps Staff presented the item for board consideration and said they intended to return with a formal recommendation and contract authorization (May 18 noted as possible). The board did not take a final vote on May 4; discussion focused on procurement details, compatibility with existing systems and operational impacts during the pilot.
