Durham School Services met with all of Shelby County’s municipal school superintendents in Bartlett on Nov. 13 to reassure them about safe and efficient bus operations.
At the Bartlett City Schools’ Nov. 13 meeting, superintendent David Stephens said, “We just want to make sure that our children are transported safely, that we have professional drivers.”
Durham’s upper management from the Chicago office noted that the Department of Motor Vehicles will now run checks on all Durham drivers quarterly, and school districts will receive these reports. Durham is also increasing the number of random drug and alcohol checks for its drivers and re-running all drivers’ background checks. In the municipal districts’ shared services for transportation department, Debbie Rike is also vetting all background checks as well.
Although any number is too many, Stephens said, Durham’s buses for the Bartlett City Schools district have only had one minor fender bender this school year.
He noted that 29 of the approximately 50 drivers for Bartlett schools have been driving these routes for many years, so Bartlett’s busing program has more continuity than some districts have.
“We’re going to hold them accountable to make sure that our students are transported safely,” Stephens said. “We’re going to stay on top of this.”
Durham now runs more than 600 buses over 54,000 miles daily in Shelby County, compared to about 250 buses last year. The company projects it will run between eight and nine million miles this year, Stephens said.
For the number of buses driven, their accident rate per million miles driven is actually about 30 percent lower than last year, he said.
Rivercrest’s roof
The board approved an agreement with Shelby County Schools to receive Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) dollars for a new roof at Rivercrest Elementary School. Before the Bartlett district was formed, the county district formed its CIP budget, including a line item for that roofing, and received a grant for that work. So the funds must flow through the county district’s budget.
Stephens said the cash flow should be fast, with reimbursement anticipated within 10 days.
Other municipal school districts are expected to make similar agreements with Shelby County Schools, he said.
More updates
Stephens also updated the school board on these points:
- The district now has an Inclement Weather Team that communicates and coordinates before 5 a.m. with other districts about weather-related school closures. Stephen said the district operates independently on such matters but does work closely with other municipal school districts, particularly Arlington and Lakeland.
- The first week of November, the district successfully rolled out its One-to-One initiative to provide iPads to 91 students at the Bartlett Ninth Grade Academy.
Other business
In other business, the board:
- Appointed a math textbook adoption committee.
- Approved a policy on charter schools as required by Tennessee state law. The policy outlines the application process by which the district would approve or deny charter schools in the Bartlett City Schools district.
- Approved a crisis management policy and a confidential crisis management document.
- Approved the district’s vacation/holiday policy on a single reading.
- Had the first reading of the board’s mission, vision, values/beliefs and goals.
- Reviewed the July-October financial report.
- Completed the second (final) reading of policies governing school visitors, school board records, and the recruitment, selection and evaluation of superintendents.
- Commended the Bartlett High School girls’ volleyball team and gave members certificates for finishing with a powerful 40-8 season and tying the school record for most wins in a season. The team emerged as Region 7-3A champions and made it to the first round of the state finals for the Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association (TSSAA).
Written by Carolyn Bahm, Express editor. Contact her at (901) 433-9138 or via email to bartlett.editor@journalinc.com.
