South Bend schools bus drivers line up.
Tribune Photo/SANTIAGO FLORES
SOUTH BEND — It’s no secret that South Bend schools have been troubled for several years by transportation problems.
Families have previously reported that school buses neglected to pick up their children on time or at all, didn’t get them to school on time and haven’t always dropped them off at the expected time after school.
During the South Bend Community School Corp’.s meeting Monday, Chief Operations Officer Rene Sanchez told school board members that’s all about to change this school year as the transportation department works to kick-start several new initiatives including the use of an ID-based tracking system that will keep school officials and parents alert about a student’s whereabouts.
“One of the things that I am hearing is ‘We’re not certain if somebody gets on the bus,’” Sanchez told the board.
Students will be issued a special ID that will be used for them to swipe as they get on and exit the bus. That way, school officials will “know exactly where the student is” at all times using the department’s computer tablets and software. Sanchez said a website will be created for parents to access and track their children as they ride the buses to school.
Negotiations are still underway with installation and the cost of creating the new cards for students, but Sanchez said he predicts the project will launch at the end of October.
Sanchez also mentioned the transportation department’s plans to install Wi-Fi on some buses so that students can do homework on their rides to or from school.
As part of the pilot project, which is also set to launch in October, buses would be parked in certain neighborhoods or parks so that the Wi-Fi can broadcast into homes for students to use, too.
Copyright © 2024, South Bend Tribune