Transportation Report August 2015 Transportation in Queen Annes - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Queen Anne’s County Public Schools Transportation Report

August 2015

Transportation in Queen Anne’s County The mission of the Transportation Department is to provide safe, timely, efficient transportation that contributes to a positive learning environment through staff and drivers committed to excellence and continuous improvement.

Overview

• Annual Report based on 2006 State Legislative

Audit

• Comparisons within state
• Year over Year Comparative Trends

Our Goal is Continuous Improvement

Transportation Benchmarks

• Fact Sheet
• Cost Effectiveness: Regular Education
• Cost Effectiveness: Special Education
• Cost Effectiveness: Other Items
• Routing Efficiency
• Safety
• Drivers
• County Comparisons

Audits: Legislative and MSDE

• Last MSDE audit was a clear audit with no problems. Another

audit this fall.  Required evaluations of drivers  Pre and post trip information from drivers  Special Needs documentation  Annual physicals  Annual in-service  Pre-service for drivers  Criminal background checks  MVA driving records

Audits: Legislative and MSDE

 Operating efficiently and effectively  Utilizing routing software to develop more efficient routes

• r plan routes in a way to utilize existing buses to capacity.

 Verification of contractor payments from information provided by contractors.

Audits of Time and Mileage At All Schools

• During the months of September and October summary audits

will be completed at all school locations for the contractor school buses.

• From these audits an additional 25% or more will be selected to

have ride along audits.

Ride Along Audits of 25% of Routes

• Reviewing the summary sheet submitted by the companies along

with the calculation sheet submitted by the contractor.

• Reviewing the routes that are planned to what is actually
• completed. Updating our routing system with any needed

corrections.

• Reviewing the actual time and mileage compared to what was

submitted.

• Developed a standard school bus manifest sheet to be used

initially for the summary sheet submitted by the companies. The same calculation sheet will be utilized for any adjustments that need to be made during the school year.

Miles Traveled FACT SHEET FY 2015 COMPARED TO FY 2014

Miles Traveled: 1,945,726 ↓ 1,952,942 Decreased 7, 216

FACT SHEET FY 2014 COMPARED TO FY 2013

Miles Traveled: 1,952,942 ↓ 2,065,280 Decreased 112,338

FACT SHEET FY 2013 COMPARED TO FY 2012

Miles Traveled: 2,065,280 ↑ 2,056,419 Increased 8,861

Driver & Attendant Hours

FACT SHEET FY 2015 COMPARED TO FY 2014 Driver Hours: 99,376 ↓ 122,285 Decreased 22,909 hours Attendant Hours: 13095 ↓ 13,772 Decreased 677 hours FACT SHEET FY 2014 COMPARED TO FY 2013 Driver Hours: 122,285 ↓ 2,065,280 Decreased 112,338 Attendant Hours: 13,772 ↓ 17,010 Decreased 3,238

FACT SHEET FY 2015 COMPARED TO FY 2014

Regular Ed Buses: 74 One less county bus reg. route to contractors Contractor Operated: 74 No Change County Operated Regular Run: 1 ↓ Consolidated a KIHS run

with Existing Contractor Buses March 2015

County Route Special Needs Buses: 13 No Change

FACT SHEET FY 2015 COMPARED TO FY 2014

Spare/Activity Buses: 21

• -- 6 Paid Contractor Operated No Change
• Unpaid Contractor Operated 5 ↑ Increased 3

(County Cost- radio, camera, strobe light, crossing gate, inspections)

• --10 County Operated No Change

Number of Companies: 4 No Change

(Bay Area Transportation- 25 contractors, L & S Bus Service- 1 contractor, Northern County Exchange-21 contractors, Queen Anne Bus Lines-6 contractors)

Cost Effectiveness: Other Items Transportation Funding Per Pupil- MSDE Fact Book

891 894 902 843 1072 1159 1122 1056 824 788 785 744 1186 1008 929 878 200 400 600 800 1000 1200 1400 2013-2014 2012-2013 2011-2012 2010-2011 Queen Anne's Kent Caroline Worcester

Bus Accident Totals

9 11 9 8 18 19 5 10 15 20 2013-2014 2014-2015

Preventable/Nonpreventable Accidents

TOTAL Non-Preventable Preventable

Bus Accidents Injury or Damage >$1500

• Damages/Injuries over $1500
• 2014-2015

5

• 2013-2014

6

Safety

# of Certified Drivers

20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160 FY 2011 FY 2012 FY 2013 FY 2014 FY2015

# of Certified Drivers

Regular Substitute total

# of Certified Drivers

Fact Book: Drivers

• Regular

Substitute Total

• FY 2011

78 70 148

• FY 2012

76 76 152

• FY 2013

76 72 148

• FY 2014

74 73 147

• FY2015

75 71 146

School Bus Drivers Evaluations

# of Certified Drivers Observed Annually

• 2014-2015- 70 (48%)
• 2013-2014- 91 (62%)
• 2012-2013- 53 (36%)

Experience

Description

Regular Substitute TOTAL

Less than 1 4 4 1.0 To 1.9 Yrs. 3 6 9 2.0 – 2.9 1 6 7 3.0- 3.9 1 4 5 4.0-4.9 1 10 11 5.0-9.9 21 22 43 10.0- 48 19 67 TOTAL 75 71 146

Age

School Bus Drivers- 2014-2015

Description

Regular Substitute TOTAL

21-24 25-29 2 2 30-39 4 10 14 40-49 12 10 22 50-59 27 25 52 60-64 12 4 16 65-69 6 11 17 70 - 14 9 23 TOTALS 75 71 146

April Hollis was honored as Queen Anne’s County Bus Driver of the Year.

Dedicated professional bus drivers with years of service to QACPS providing safe and reliable transportation.

County Drivers

20 Drivers for Special Needs Runs- Trained as drivers and attendants to transport disabled students and other students as needed. Decrease by two drivers during the 2014-2015 school year.

• 64 regular disabled runs during the school day to and from school.

Also: Shuttle from Annex to KIHS Fire School Run in the AM Runs throughout the day for Transition Programs in the county After school and summer programs Substitute County Drivers-Fieldtrip Drivers (Athletic, Band, etc.) Evacuation drills completed by all sport teams for each season

County Drivers

Other schools special needs students attended during the 2014- 2015 school year:

• Benedictine
• Harbour School
• Maryland School for the Blind
• High Roads
• Kennedy Krieger

County Transportation of Students Experiencing Homelessness

McKinney-Vento Homeless Education Act Ensures that children experiencing homelessness have access to the same free, appropriate public education and related services as their permanently housed peers for and equal opportunity to meet the same challenging academic standards.

County Special Needs Driver Training

June 2015 Training:

• Pre- Trip Instruction- Dwayne Wright
• Fire Extinguisher Use and Demonstration- Raymond Aaron
• Special Needs Bus Features, Q Straint- American Bus, Mike Tine
• Defensive Driving- MABE, Lisa Spencer
• Hot Topics and Cool Solutions- Dr. Linda Bluth, MSDE
• Human Resources- Dan Lessard and Michelle Rowell
• Special Needs Laws, regulations, confidentiality, etc.- Dr. Diane McGowan, QACPS
• Special Needs Handbook- Margaret Ellen Kalmanowicz
• New Equipment- ZONAR-Nate Long

Bus Evacuation Drills

• 2014-2015- Expanded drills to high school sport teams for each
• season. Many of these students may not ride a school bus to or

from school.

• Consolidation of evacuation drills to main first school grouping.

Example: BES and KIES

• Expanded to a school activity trip briefing to students which

includes evacuation information.

• School staff are to be applauded for their support during the drills.

Opt-Out for Bus Transportation

• Began with the 2014-2015 school year.

535- AM and PM 113- Opted Out of AM 138- Opted Out of PM

• In order to become more effective and efficient in our operations

in planning routes parents can assist in completing a form to opt-

• ut of transportation in and am/or pm.
• Forms are available online and at the schools

2014-2015-Rosco Grid Installed

• Located on parking lots at QACHS, KIHS and SMS- Utilized for

proper school bus mirror adjustment.

• Training opportunity scheduled for drivers.

2014-2015 Angel Trax Cameras on All School Buses

• Training of all school administrators on viewing the hard drives.
• In-service with bus drivers on the cameras
• Cameras installed on all buses in January, 2015
• Contractor Buses- Switch to turn on and off vs. County Buses-cameras

run when the bus is turned on

Transportation Advisory Committee

• Meetings held on September 30, 2014 and May 26, 2015.

Members include parents, administrators, police, bus contractors, transportation and police agencies.

• Original purpose of the committee was to examine possible ways

to save money due to severe budget deficits. Continuing to look at this and safety.

• Weather Delay Information reviewed- 90 minute delay, 2 hour

delay, possibility of combination with 2 hour just December-

• March. Will keep additional data during the 2015-2016 school

year and continue with 90 minute delay and re-evaluate at the end of the school year.

Transportation Advisory Committee Continued

• Safe Routes to School- Additional sidewalks to possibly increase

the walking area for students.

• Need for crossing guard training at some schools.
• Establishing bus stops
• Driver training
• Opt-Out
• Alternate Bus Transportation Form
• Highway projects
• Radio Installations
• County Table Top Drill Participation

School Bus Route Reviews 2014-2015

• In attendance: Administrators, parents, bus company representatives

and the transportation department staff.

• Objectives:

 Review current bus service for consistent distance eligibility criteria and exceptions granted for walking conditions not meeting an acceptable level of safety.  Review current school bus service for: Acceptable levels of safety Program efficiency Economy of operations

School Bus Route Reviews 2014-2015

• KIHS- 3/13/2015
• QACHS- 3/12/2015
• MES/MMS- 2/25/2015
• SDES/SDMS-1/8/2015, 1/15/2015
• CES/KES/CMS- 3/31/2015, 4/13/2015
• STVMS- 4/9/2015
• CHES- 3/4/2015
• GES-3/24/2015
• KIES/BES- 3/30/2015

Regularly Scheduled Meetings with Bus Companies

• Every company designates a company representative for the BOE to

communicate with.

• Agenda items have included:

MSDE and Legislative Audits Routes and Bus Stops Radio Usage Bus Inspections Physicals Manifest School Bus Driver Certification Camera usage Unacceptable Behavior

Bus Route Review Committee Meetings- With Bus Companies and Transportation Department- for 2015-2016 School Year

• SDES/SDMS-4/24/2015
• QACHS- 4/28/2015
• QACHS and STVMS- 4/30/2015
• CMS/KES/CES- May 4, 2015, May 11, 2015
• KIHS- May 5, 2015
• BES/KIES- May 11, 2015
• MMS/MES- May 14, 2015
• CES/CMS/KES/Anchor Points- May 22, 2015
• CES/CMS/KES-May 28, 2015
• Review of all routes- June 24, 2015
• July 23, 2015
• Continuing during summer 2015

Monthly Transportation Staff Meetings

• Opportunities for staff to meet and review new initiatives and

upcoming training planning.

• Timeline reviews for completion of evaluations, audits and

projects.

• Concerns about safety, equipment, routes, etc.

Initiatives for 2015-2016:

• Website revisions to the transportation section
• Newsletter for drivers
• Alternate Route Form
• Bus Stop Survey Form
• Red Light Runner- Media Coverage and additional training

Alternate Bus Transportation Request- New Initiative

• The Board of Education allows one AM pick up location and one

PM drop off location for each transported student.

• Exceptions will be made only in case of an emergency or when

extenuating circumstances exist.

• For consideration of a request for bus service to or from a

different pick up or drop off location, different from the home address, the parent must provide information on the form.

• Allow 3-5 business days for the change to be processed.
• Form is available at the schools and online.

Bus Stop Survey – New Initiative

Goal of the questionnaire is to provide parents/guardians, an

• pportunity to express their concerns as they relate to the safety of

their children and to inform the parent of the Board of Education policies and procedures. The transportation department staff will conduct an on-site visit to investigate each written request in the order in which it is received. When considering the need to extend a bus route, change the location or add a stop, the staff will consider the following: acceptable levels of safety, program and routing efficiency; economy of operations and equity of service.

Bus Stop Evaluation Committee

• Secures factual information concerning all factors in the selection
• f a bus stop.
• Review bus stops and determine whether the bus stop is

appropriate or whether changes may be needed.

• Members include: 1 member of the pupil transportation office, 1

contractor, 1 member of law enforcement, 1 school administrator, 1 from SHA when appropriate.

Violations of 8 Way Flashing Lights on School Buses

• Work closely with the Maryland State Police, Sheriff’s Office and

Centreville Police. They have received grants for enforcement of this violation and we provide information to them monthly as to the location and time of violations.

• During the 2014-2015 school year QACPS had 67 violations. Drivers

report violations to the Operation Center and they are forwarded to the various police agencies.

• QACPS has participated in the Nationwide School Bus Illegal Passing

Survey on 4/22/2015. 73 drivers participated and we had 13 violations

• n that day.
• Media coverage and additional training on the 8 Light System Usage

during in-service.

Thanks to the school staff, county and contractor bus drivers, bus contractors, central office staff, transportation staff and administrators for their continued support!!!

Transportation

Questions???