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District transportation director outlines fleet, routes and driver recruitment needs
Summary
Transportation Director Jeff Canela reported on fleet status, route times (including one route that can keep a student on a bus 2–2½ hours end‑to‑end), special‑needs routes and driver recruitment efforts, and said the department has applied for a vendor grant that would add on‑bus tablets, GPS and parent app features.
Jeff Canela, the district’s director of transportation, presented a year‑end summary of the transportation department May 12, telling the board the district operates 25 school buses and multiple small vehicles, runs special‑needs routes with paraprofessional help, and is recruiting additional drivers to reduce long route times.
Canela described one route that ties into Running Creek as the longest by time, with students on board for “2, 2 and a half hours” from first pickup to last drop‑off. He said the department’s goal is to reduce time on the bus by splitting routes and adding drivers where possible. Canela said the district has five special‑needs routes, six paraprofessionals on those routes and had added a second mechanic to keep buses in service.
Canela also described a pending grant application with the fleet vendor Traversa that — if awarded — would supply tablets on buses, a parent app and GPS tracking to provide real‑time alerts and maintenance alerts to district staff. He said the earliest deployment for those systems would be the following spring break, after procurement and installation.
Board members asked for clarifications about whether the two‑to‑two‑and‑a‑half‑hour figure was a one‑way time or round trip; Canela confirmed it reflects the time from first pickup to final drop‑off, and he described the department’s focus on recruiting more CDL drivers (the district reported 22 CDL‑qualified drivers including staff) to split long routes.
Canela asked the community to help identify potential drivers and noted that the district pays for CDL training and that some parents have taken positions as bus drivers while keeping daytime parenting responsibilities.
Ending: The transportation report prompted follow‑up questions about route redesign and hiring; district staff said they will continue recruitment and bring potential route adjustments back to the board as needed.
