Transportation Assessment Stafford County Public Schools Discussion of Results School Board Work Session October 13, 2020 Tom Platt
Project History Oct ‐ Dec 2019: Familiarization, discovery, and baseline analysis of performance Jan 2020: Preliminary operational findings discussion with staff Jan ‐ Feb 2020: Further discovery and bell time assessment Feb 2020: Findings & recommendations discussion with Superintendent Mar 2020: Decision Briefing deliverable PANDEMIC RESPONSE TODAY: Goal is to refresh, reenergize, and move o forward 2
This Session Thematic findings & recommendations discussion Details behind the work (time permitting) The path forward with a focus on the decisions required 3
Thematic Findings Summary 1. Evolutionary growth and its implications: Answers the question – how did we arrive here? Operational challenges have undermined service effectiveness and customer confidence Many pieces for success are in place; future focus should be on cohesiveness of the whole 2. An efficient system, as designed… This removes a significant potential immediate challenge Provides a foundation and starting point for future success 4
Thematic Findings Summary 3. …but this is not an effective system by design: Service quality is compromised in the design of the system The design is a compromise that acknowledges hard constraints set by bell times and emerging demands. Operational challenges exacerbated the design problem. 4. Reestablishing a steady state following a difficult school start will not suffice for the future: Regaining confidence requires deliberate and concerted action ‐ fixing operational shortcomings will not be enough. Evolutionary growth, and change, will continue to put new and increasing pressure on the system. 5
Thematic Recommendations 1. Update, don’t reinvent, the infrastructure: Deliberately update the system’s documentary guidance to prompt process and procedural change. Develop, document, and implement a technology migration and integration plan to leverage current investments, and to attract and retain the next generation of staff. Update the organization structure and optimize this to process and technology changes. 2. Address the constraints: Transportation can do anything required , but it can’t do everything desired . Deciding what the priorities are to be must be a policy decision. Bell times need to change if: Service quality and effectiveness is to be a priority; and o Adding buses and drivers is not feasible. o 6
Thematic Recommendations 3. Address the culture: Enforce policy, process, and procedure. Put the authority where it belongs and make sure it stays there. Educate the customers so they understand the nature of the constrained optimization problem, including the School Board, building administrators, and parents. 4. Improve tactically and continuously: Fix the strategic issues now, improve tactically and continuously later. Change is constant; encourage a culture of continuous improvement. 7
Growth and Change Foundational Constraints & Parameters Organizational Infrastructure Technological Infrastructure 8
EDUCATION Transportation as Part of a System Support Financing Services Policy & Design & Governance Planning The problems at startup in TRANSPORTATION 2019 manifested here, but had their root cause further Fleet up the chain, and the Operations operational backbone was Management not fully prepared to adapt. 9
Policies, Regulations, & Procedures Establishing a proper foundation for success Last reviewed and adopted division ‐ wide in 2013: • The age of current guidance and the timing of this project presents an opportunity for implementing necessary change at the policy (school board) level. • Regulations and SOP’s are under administration and departmental control, which presents an opportunity for organizing further change after policy revision. Existing documentation is limited in scope: • Relevant documented procedures are almost wholly absent except for a driver ‐ oriented employee manual. • Inter ‐ departmental responsibilities are ill ‐ defined at the policy and regulation level. As a result, success is too dependent on institutional knowledge: • This is a recurrent theme throughout this assessment. • There is a dependency on a small cohort of dedicated and long ‐ tenured staff. 10
Systemic Change Increasing sophistication to keep up with growth Unchanged, static organization structure: The size and structure of the core management organization is unchanged despite significant system growth. Long ‐ tenured staff do not consistently challenge the status quo. Misaligned responsibilities and reporting: Two hats for the Director is one too many. Personality dependencies hamper sound decision making and effective operations. The current structure enables influencers outside of organizational norms. 11
Technology as Critical Infrastructure Tools as leverage for change and sophistication Further technology integration for planning and operations will be a critical success factor for the future. Current technology use is inconsistent, siloed and poorly integrated: • RP routing software as a stand ‐ alone application. • Two GPS tracking systems used for different purposes. • Cameras are installed, but we still “pull the tape”. Tenure and knowledge as a substitute for integrated technology is a tenuous strategy: • The organization can only ride its best horses for so long. • Certain individuals are “in charge” because it is all in their head. Pieces, parts, and “toes in the water”: • Example: Tablets, but only 10 – Potential as game changer re: payroll Potential as game changer re: operations 12
Transportation Performance By the numbers Observational 13
Performance by the Numbers Indicator Total Regular Trans Special Needs Active Routes 210 154.5 55.5 Cost per Route Bus $77,816 Cost per Student (planned) $593 $448 $6,353 Daily Runs per Bus 5.6 Capacity Utilization 64% 84% 9.3% Avg. Run Length (live time) 0:32 0:30 0:35 14
Key Performance Observations The system is efficient, as designed, but pressure is increasing, particularly in special needs and programs. The contract system for driver compensation is a major constraint on operational adaptation. The ongoing driver shortage demands thoughtfulness and caution in devising the path forward. The causes and aftereffects of 2019 startup should be viewed as an opportunity to reposition for the future. A concerted effort at process and procedural documentation can be a significant lever for change. The staying power of paper, and legacy processes pose the single biggest hurdle to overcome. Misaligned staff assignments and reporting relationships can be most readily corrected as part of the process redesign, including a renewed technology strategy. 15
Transportation & Bell Times The current situation: Constraints and their effect Thinking of change: Complexities Thinking of improvement: Possibilities 16
100 120 140 160 180 200 100 120 140 160 180 200 17 210 Buses: Fleet Deployment Visualized 20 40 60 80 20 40 60 80 0 0 13:45 5:45 13:50 5:50 13:55 5:55 14:00 6:00 14:05 6:05 14:10 6:10 14:15 6:15 14:20 6:20 14:25 6:25 14:30 Clean and well balanced by appearances 6:30 14:35 6:35 14:40 6:40 14:45 6:45 14:50 6:50 14:55 6:55 15:00 7:00 15:05 7:05 15:10 7:10 Count of Buses Carrying Students ‐ AM 15:15 Count of Buses Carrying Students ‐ PM 7:15 15:20 7:20 15:25 7:25 15:30 7:30 15:35 7:35 15:40 7:40 15:45 7:45 15:50 7:50 15:55 7:55 16:00 8:00 16:05 8:05 16:10 8:10 16:15 8:15 16:20 8:20 16:25 8:25 16:30 8:30 16:35 8:35 16:40 8:40 16:45 8:45 16:50 8:50 16:55 8:55 17:00 9:00 17:05 9:05 17:10 9:10 17:15 9:15 17:20 9:20 17:25 9:25 17:30 17:35 9:30 17:40 9:35 17:45 9:40
Hidden Constraints and their Effect 210 route buses require 210 operators, every day: • With insufficient numbers, the system no longer operates as designed. • The staff size and attendance pattern made it challenging to reach this target every day. An efficient , but not entirely effective , 3 ‐ tier system by design: • A roughly equal 45 ‐ minute time separation between tiers and equal instructional day length across grade levels is a strong starting point. • The system is well balanced across tiers. • The system enjoys strong capacity and asset utilization. Issues arise in the underlying details: • Morning tier 1 & 2 (High Schools, then Middle Schools): o 119 RegEd runs + 31 SpEd runs = 150 route buses o Add 54 “other” runs = 204 route buses in use • Morning tier 3 (Elementary Schools) o 172 RegEd runs + 47 SpEd runs = 219 route buses required 18
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