NATIONAL COALITION OF SCHOOL BUS SAFETY NEWS 2007

Parish Schools Using GPS to Plot Bus Routes
Technology Being Utilized to Address High Growth
March 14, 2007

FRANKLINTON - As Washington Parish grows, so will the parish's school transportation system.

And that is the biggest concern facing William R. Brignac Jr., supervisor of transportation for the Washington Parish school system.

"Franklinton is the worst area," he said of growing pains that are the result of new home construction in the community as well as western Washington Parish.

In a story published by The Daily News earlier this year, sales tax revenue for the town grew by about 30 percent in 2006 and housing starts were up according to Franklinton Mayor Earle Brown.

To develop the most up-to-date information about mileage and routes impacted by growth, the school system borrowed GPS equipment from Tangipahoa Parish. The equipment will be placed on buses to develop transportation statistics that will help the school system put together a better route map and determine if more buses are needed to handle the expected rise in student enrollment.

"It will pinpoint the areas that need attention," Brignac explained.

To more efficiently move the students from home to school and from the school campus back home during the afternoon, the school system will do whatever it has to, Brignac said.

The goal is to "better prepare (us) for the next school year," he explained.

Currently, the growth in the Franklinton area has produced full buses and a longer ride for students, as bus drivers have to make more stops to pick up more students.

While statistics are not yet in, Brignac said he expects he will have to add new routes, change some existing routes and add new bus drivers.

He said that when new routes are added current bus drivers are given the chance to drive them. If not enough current drivers choose the new routes, then substitute bus drivers will be offered the new route.

If routes remain open, then the system will look outside and hire new drivers.

New drivers are also brought in to replace an existing driver who moves to a new route thereby opening up and existing route. So, Brignac is preparing to hire new faces no matter who drives the new bus routes.

Brignac has been in his job for three years and said he has not ever seen this level of growth in enrollment.

Currently, the parish school system has 78 bus drivers with seven driving buses for special needs students.

Although Brignac is focused on handling growth and an expanding transportation network, issues such as roads, safety and discipline are also on his mind.

As for improving the parish roads bus drivers roll on five days a week, Brignac said he meets with John Taylor, supervisor of the parish's road department, whenever he gets enough complaints from his drivers.

"They (drivers) call me ... (and) I refer the list to Mr. Taylor," he said.

Brignac said discipline problems on school buses are handled inside each school just as discipline problems that would occur on campus.

The driver is required to write a discipline referral and bring the incident to the attention of the school principal or local discipline officer.

If a fight occurs on the bus, Brignac said, the driver should pull the bus off the road; and if the driver cannot handle the situation law enforcement officers are called to the scene.

Except for major situations such as fighting, students are given four chances before they are removed from the bus system for the remainder of the school year. (See adjacent box for discipline process).

"We've not had very many (serious problems)," Brignac said, adding that fights occur "very seldom."

Also rare in the parish are bus accidents.

The bus drivers are very well trained, he said, and must pass both local and state certification while regularly taking driver safety courses.

Brignac said his drivers have had only one serious accident during the current school year and that occurred when a car that had stopped behind a bus was hit from behind and then rammed the back of a school bus.

No one was hurt, Brignac said.

He said most residents are careful when they approach buses and he gets very few reports of vehicles failing to observe the caution lights and arms that signal a stopped school bus.

BY ROBERT JACKSON
The Daily News

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