Transportation Services Comprehensive Evaluation Anne Arundel County Public Schools 20460 Chartwell Center Drive PrismaticServices.com Suite 1 (704) 438-9929 (voice/fax) Cornelius, NC 28031-5254 USA [email protected] Table of Contents 1 Introduction ................................................................................... 1-1 Methodology .....................................................................................................1-4 Acknowledgements ............................................................................................. 1-6 Report Organization ........................................................................................... 1-6 2 Stakeholder Surveys ....................................................................... 2-1 Overall Transportation Grades ........................................................................... 2-2 Bus Contractor Service Quality ............................................................................ 2-3 Operational Readiness ........................................................................................ 2-4 Timeliness .................................................................................................... 2-5 Lost Instructional Time ...................................................................................... 2-7 Contractor Performance ..................................................................................... 2-8 Ride Times .................................................................................................... 2-9 Transportation Department Responsiveness ................................................... 2-10 Prismatic Observations ...................................................................................... 2-11 3 Department Review ........................................................................ 3-1 State Restrictions Regarding School Vehicles .................................................... 3-2 Organization and Staffing .................................................................................. 3-11 Departmental Management .............................................................................. 3-23 Contractor Management ................................................................................... 3-44 Facilities .................................................................................................. 3-56 Routing .................................................................................................. 3-68 4 Conclusions and Recommendations ............................................... 4-1 Conclusions .....................................................................................................4-1 RFP Crosswalk .................................................................................................... 4-2 Commendations .................................................................................................. 4-3 Recommendations .............................................................................................. 4-4 Appendices A – Peer Comparison Data ................................................................................. A-1 B – Compilation of School Observations ............................................................. B-1 C – School Administrator Survey ....................................................................... C-1 D – Parent Survey ............................................................................................... D-1 E – Facilities Master Plan Element ..................................................................... E-1 Chapter 1 – Introduction Chapter 1 – Introduction In July 2019, Anne Arundel County Public Schools (AACPS) contracted with Prismatic Services to complete a review of its school transportation operations. As detailed in the district’s Request for Proposals, the goals of the study were to review: The effectiveness and efficient use of the current AACPS transportation program; including organizational structures, policies and procedures, contracted services, computerization automation and software levels utilization, communication systems, facilities, and equipment. Current methodologies utilized for daily school bus routing, bus size relative to expected ridership, special education routes, non-public school routes, field trips, athletic trips, and other co-curricular activities with recommendations for developing more efficient and effective routing procedures, bus routes, and compressing delivery windows/bus arrival times. Current operational and capital costs with identification of potential fiscal savings opportunities or recommended enhancements, while maintaining optimal and safe public school transportation services. A review of, and recommended enhancements for, AACPS owned or leased facilities used for transportation administration, operations, training, bus storage, fueling, and repairs. Current and recommended automation and data management tools utilized for bus routing, contractor payments, reporting requirements, data retention requirements, as well as the use of data to measure program efficacy. Staffing (professional, support, contractual), including organizational structures, resources, qualifications, utilization, compensation, and training/professional development needs. Current practices for recruiting, training, and compensating both AACPS-employed and contractor-employed school bus drivers and bus aids with recommendations for addressing the current shortage of qualified public school bus drivers and bus aids. Procedures used, and opportunities for, enhanced communications with schools, contractors, bus drivers/aids, staff, parents, students, and other stakeholders regarding transportation services. Assist the AACPS transportation department with optimizing the utilization, data population, and output generation of its computerized/automated transportation routing and accounts payable systems(s). Recommendations and costs associated with changes to school start and dismissal time scenarios; essentially to compress said times to allow for a later start for those schools with the earliest start times and an earlier completion for those elementary and middle schools with the latest dismissal times. Develop, analyze, and cost out various optimization models to assist AACPS in investigating compressing school 2 1-1 start and dismissal times. Determine the impact and costs of the various scenarios on the AACPS Transportation Department and associated school operations. Also, examine opportunities to cost effectively shorten the duration of the longest bus route run times where possible and practicable. Comparison of AACPS transportation program(s) and expenditure data with similar Maryland public school districts, including cost per pupil transported and per mile, as well as professional, support, and bus driver/aid (AACPS and contracted) salary schedules. This report is provided in fulfillment of Prismatic’s contract. Located south of Baltimore, Anne Arundel County has 128 schools spread across its 418 square miles of land. The school district serves approximately 83,000 students, making it the 4th largest of Maryland’s 24 school districts, behind only the Montgomery County, Prince George’s County, and Baltimore County systems. The Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE) authorizes school districts to contract or employ staff to provide student transportation services between school and home, from school to career and technology locations, and for approved extracurricular activities. The federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) requires districts to provide transportation services to students who must travel to receive special education services, if they provide regular school transportation services. In 2018-19, just over 62,000 AACPS students were eligible for bus transportation. To meet this need, the district has 54 of its own buses to transport special education students, then contracts with private companies to transport regular education students. In 2018-19, the private companies serviced the district with 581 buses. As shown in Exhibit 1-1, the number of students eligible and the number of private buses has increased over the past 10 years. 1-2 Exhibit 1-1 Trend in Students Eligible for Transportation and Contracted Buses 63,000 700 62,000 600 61,000 60,000 500 59,000 400 58,000 57,000 300 56,000 # Contractor Buses 55,000 200 # Eligible Student Riders Student # Eligible 54,000 100 53,000 52,000 0 09-10 10-11 11-12 12-13 13-14 14-15 15-16 16-17 17-18 18-19 # of Contractor Buses # of Students Source: Prismatic Services, November 2019 The AACPS transportation department provides transportation year-round to support a variety of programming. This includes: Transportation During the School Year: - Regular – student transportation to/from school - Special Education – student with disabilities transportation to/from AACPS schools and non-public facilities - Special Population – McKinney Vento (homeless) and foster care student transportation to/from assigned school - Hub-Based Special Programs – student transportation from dedicated hubs to/from countywide STEM, BMAH, PVA, IB-DP, and IB-MYP programs - Other Special Programs: • Newcomer Center (ELA student transportation to/from Newcomer Center at Annapolis HS) • AACC (student transportation to/from Anne Arundel Community College) • CRASC (student transportation to/from CRASC programs) 2 1-3 • CBI (student transportation