Tag Archives: transportation

HISD a Finalist for the National Association for Pupil Transportation’s Larson Quality Award

The Houston Independent School District Transportation Department has been selected as a finalist for the prestigious national Larson Quality Award.  The Leland E.G. Larson Quality Student Transportation Program was developed to spotlight school bus operations that provide high quality customer service in safety centered operations.

“We are honored to be one of two districts nationally under consideration for this award,” said HISD’s Chief Operating Officer Leo Bobadilla. “Our bus drivers, mechanics and all of our transportation staff deserve the credit for achieving this prestigious recognition and for their commitment to safely transport our students to and from school every day.”

There are three phases to the program.  The Houston ISD Transportation Department received “exemplary” assessments in the first two phases of the program, which qualified the department to move to the third phase.  Phase three of the program involves an unannounced two-day site evaluation conducted by representatives of the peer review committee, which the HISD Transportation Department recently completed.  The HISD Transportation Department is one of two districts nationwide selected as a finalist for the Larson Quality Award.

“The passion, commitment, and dedication of every single bus driver, attendant, shop team member, and support staff has brought the transportation team to this incredible accomplishment,” said Nathan Graf, HISD’s transportation general manager . “Just being selected as a finalist is reason for everyone here to be proud.”

The HISD Transportation Department has earned three previous national awards.  In May 2011, the HISD Transportation Department was listed among the 100 best fleets in the country ranked by Government Fleet, a leading transportation industry magazine.  In October 2011, the HISD Transportation Department ranked as the top school district green fleet in the nation.  The department was chosen based on documentation of key performance measurements.  In April 2012, the HISD Transportation Department was listed again among the 100 best fleets in the country by Government Fleet, the only school district to make the list two consecutive years.

Each day, 875 HISD school buses travel 80,000 miles as they transport 30,000 students to and from school.

HISD Response to Issues Raised by Houston Educational Support Personnel Union

Student and employee safety is the top priority of the Houston Independent School District. HISD’s efforts to protect students and staff include a comprehensive school bus safety and student discipline strategy. HISD officials are aware of the student discipline concerns raised by the Houston Educational Support Personnel union and the district takes these concerns seriously. District officials are reviewing the Student Code of Conduct to determine whether revisions are necessary. This review will include an evaluation of the union’s request to include a more specific mechanism for suspending bus riding privileges for students with ongoing disciplinary issues.

Steps HISD has taken to ensure bus safety include:
• All bus drivers this year received four hours of student management training.
• Every HISD bus is equipped with at least two security video cameras.
• HISD transportation administrators conduct monthly roundtable discussions with employees at each bus terminal to hear employees’ concerns and address them.

HISD bus drivers are asked to report all disciplinary issues to their supervisors. The supervisors then investigate the incident by reviewing videotape, usually within 24 hours of receiving the complaint. Based on the results of the video, either the school and/or HSID police are informed of the incident and given the opportunity to review the video. Appropriate action is then taken by the school or police.

The HISD transportation department is unaware of any unresolved issues regarding specific incidents brought forward by bus drivers. Transportation officials have asked union officials to provide a list of specific instances in which they feel appropriate action was not taken, but we have received no such list at this point. If such a list is provided, HISD will investigate thoroughly.

Uniform bell schedule for schools would save HISD $1.2 million, board is told

Implementing uniform schedules across the Houston Independent School District’s 279 campuses would free up $1.2 million while giving the average student an extra 19 minutes in the classroom, according to a budget-cutting option presented to the HISD Board of Education today.

HISD is looking for more ways to reduce spending as the district seeks to address a projected $34 million deficit for the 2012-2013 school year. The loss in revenue is a result of last year’s decision by the Texas Legislature to reduce public education funding by $5.3 billion.

Streamlining HISD’s bell schedule was among many potential spending reduction options discussed during Thursday’s Board of Education meeting. Under this plan, every HISD school would have an instructional day that is 7 ½ hours long. This represents a 19-minute increase for the average HISD school, or a total of seven full days of extra instruction time over the course of the year.

Currently, HISD schools have about 20 different start and end times. Under the option presented today, schools would operate on the following bell schedule:

  • Approximately half of all elementary schools would operate from 7:30 a.m. to 3 p.m.
  • Approximately half of all elementary schools would operate from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.
  • All middle schools would operate from 7:45 a.m. to 3:15 p.m.
  • All high schools would operate from 8:45 a.m. to 4:15 p.m. Continue reading →