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District touts parent bus-app, warns of driver shortages covering 78% of students
Summary
Transportation director described a parent portal linked to GPS and routing systems with 3,000 total users; the district transports about 78% of students (~14,500) and faces daily driver absences often covered by other drivers and a growing substitute recruitment effort.
The Berkeley County Schools Board heard a transportation update May 18 that detailed technology upgrades and ongoing staffing pressures.
Executive Director of Transportation Mr. Kiesecker told the board the district has integrated Edulog route management with Samsara GPS telematics to give real-time visibility into bus runs. The parent portal — a public-facing app the district recommends parents sign up for — provides arrival pings and trip history. Kiesecker said total sign-ups since launch exceed 3,000 and that outreach at school events tends to boost registrations.
On the system’s scale, the director said the district transports roughly 78% of its students — about 14,500 on an average day — and operates a fleet with 243 drivers. He said absenteeism remains a persistent problem: drivers often cover another route or an element of another run, and the district estimates substitutes and in-house coverage handled a large share of absence days. A recent recruitment event produced about 10 promising substitute candidates, and the district is exploring permanent substitute positions with benefits to increase pool reliability.
Kiesecker also described past software problems with Edulog that reverted route changes; after upgrading the platform, those issues were resolved. He recommended parents use the portal's exact student information entry requirements to avoid pending status and noted a help contact (Cheyenne) who assists families.
Board members asked for monthly activity metrics and additional outreach; staff said monthly active users range from 200–300 at the school-year start and that outreach will continue during the summer and at school events.
The director said the portal reduces phone calls to the transportation office and can spare parents extended wait times at stops when delays occur.
