We have some important updates about changes that are coming to our Transportation Department. We are finishing a complete upgrade and overhaul of our Transportation Department software programs that will result in:
more efficient routes,
more accurate route and passenger information,
Bus stop location adjustments,
better and more targeted communication to parents, and
Fewer or (hopefully) the elimination of the need to delay routes.
It's no secret that most school districts across our state and our country are struggling to be fully staffed within their transportation departments. Fayetteville Public Schools has not been exempt from these challenges. Thus, we have been exploring ways to improve processes, and ultimately, consistency for families. With this in mind, the district will be making some changes to its processes for next school year in an effort to be as efficient as we can be.
Starting this spring, we will be instituting an annual bus transportation sign up window. Within the next day or two, parents will receive an email with an access code and a link to the online form to register their children to ride the bus for the 2024-25 school year. Parents should complete the form for each of their children who will need bus transportation. We hope you will complete the form prior to the summer break, but the window to sign up for bus transportation will be open through the end of June. If you miss the sign up window, you can still request transportation, but your child’s ability to ride the bus may be delayed until they can be appropriately assigned.
We also expect to establish parent responsibility zones for each school attendance area. A parent responsibility zone is a portion of the attendance zone that is relatively close to the designated school or is a neighborhood with enhanced sidewalks and trails allowing a specified neighborhood to more easily walk or cycle to school. The district is partnering with an outside entity to help assess which areas would work well for this type of designation. We expect a full report in May, at which time a final decision will be made regarding the implementation of parent responsibility zones.
WHY THE CHANGES ARE NEEDED:
Currently, parents are not required to sign up their child to ride the school bus. Any child who gets to any bus stop may ride the school bus. This model creates scenarios in which the bus driver does not have complete and accurate information on which students are riding their bus on any given day. In addition, it limits the district in its ability to create the most efficient routes.
Having parents of students who ride the bus provide accurate information on where they live, the school their child attends, and the days that child rides the school bus will greatly improve the accuracy and efficiency of our bus routes.
While our bus routes have been tweaked somewhat each year, this will be the first major review and reconfiguration in several years.
New technology on our buses will allow both the driver and our transportation department office to have real-time information on each route, the location of each bus, and the names of each student on board.
We are confident these changes will allow us to better serve our students who ride our buses and their families. We have also made a video that highlights these changes: https://youtu.be/HOFOZfa5PBo
Be watching for the login email! Please feel free to reach out to your building principal if you have any issues. We appreciate your help as we work to improve the efficiency and reliability of our daily bus services. And, most importantly, thank you for entrusting us with the care and education of your child.