Leaders Detail Efforts to Avoid Repeat of Baton Rouge School Transportation Crisis

BATON ROUGE, La. — “I just want us to move as fast as humanly possible and do it,” Board Vice President Patrick Martin V said, stressing the urgency of preventing a repeat of last year’s severe transportation issues as the new school year approaches in August. Despite diligent efforts, challenges remain and some solutions are still in progress.

“We were determined to get to the bottom of the problem instead of dancing around it and discussing platitudes, generalities, and patchwork decisions that we’ve tried in the past,” interim Chief of Operations John McCann told the parish School Board last week.

Martin urged district administrators to take all necessary actions before schools reopen in six weeks.

“I don’t know if I can be sure that nine of us are unanimous on anything other than we never want to go through what we did last year ever again,” he said.

Last August, the school year began with a severe shortage of drivers and working buses, leaving many children stranded or delayed. A two-day sickout by drivers, joined by disgruntled cafeteria workers, forced the cancellation of classes.

To address these issues, the district hired Huntsville, Alabama-based LEAN Frog Consulting to evaluate key problem areas in the Transportation Department. Bryon Headrick, LEAN Frog’s president and co-founder, presented his initial findings at Thursday’s board meeting.

Board President Carla Powell-Lewis praised the report, calling it “possibly the most solid information we’ve received on transportation since we started this tenure on the board.”

Headrick revealed that the school system had 901 buses when he began, many of which were inoperable. Although over 100 buses were recently sold as surplus, the fleet remains oversized.

“Physical buses, you have had way more than you needed,” Headrick said.

Key findings from Headrick’s report include:

• Less than 6% of the district's 648 operating buses are spares, whereas similar districts keep 15-20% as spares.
• The district employs too few mechanics, with only 13 for its size, paid below average, and many nearing retirement.
• The maintenance shop suffers from outdated processes and software.
• Pay structures for bus drivers need adjustment, with starting drivers earning less but veteran drivers earning more compared to peers.
• Special education buses have yet to utilize the BusPlanner routing software acquired last fall.

Board member Mike Gaudet acknowledged the need for better information systems in student transportation, noting the historical difficulty in obtaining basic transportation answers.

“The lack of information was astounding,” Gaudet said.

The district has already taken some steps to address these issues. Following the resignation of Transportation Director Kelvin Ridgley in March, Rob Howle, a bus supervisor and former Liberty High principal, was promoted to interim director. In May, Chauncey Moore, a driver training and safety officer, was appointed interim assistant transportation director.

For the new school year, the district is leasing buses instead of purchasing them, transferring maintenance responsibilities to the leasing company. The recently approved annual budget increases leasing expenditures by $2.7 million and includes across-the-board employee pay raises, such as a $1,300 annual raise for support workers. Starting bus drivers will see their pay rise from $19,150 to $20,450 annually.

Several other measures are being implemented:

• A request for proposals to outsource bus maintenance services is expected within 60 days.
• Creation of a new in-house work request system for the maintenance shop.
• Temporary hiring of a technician to repair broken GPS locators on buses.
• A relaunch of the "Where’s The Bus" app.
• Daily check-in and check-out requirements for bus drivers.
• Increased frequency of new bus driver training classes.
• Utilizing a national contract with NAPA Auto Parts to potentially save $500,000 on auto parts and services.

Martin stressed the importance of outsourcing maintenance services, urging swift action. “I just want us to move as fast as humanly possible and do it,” he said.