Changes in North Pike’s transportation department have brought about improvements in timing, ridership and employment, the department’s director told school board members this month.
Ronald Fortenberry said the department is well staffed, with 38 regular dirvers and three substitutes, while the district has 45 buses, including seven that can be substituted into the active fleet if one of the everyday buses needs repairs.
He credited raises and attendance bonuses instituted this year with boosting recruitment and retention of new drivers.
“We’re getting future drivers trained,” Fortenberry said. “The incentives are helping to raise interest.”
The new bus routing system this year, with students largely riding school-specific buses, has decreased discipline problems and brought more elementary students onto the buses, he said.
“The parents and the students aren’t nervous anymore about having to ride the bus with the bigger kids,” Fortenberry said.
When the district buys buses in the future, Fortenberry said he wants buy buses with air conditioning, and add radio communication systems and more cameras.
“If we had cameras on the exterior of the buses, we could catch peple who are passing stopped buses,” he said.
In other business, the board held a bid opening for a 61.3-acre tract of 16th Section land.
There were two bidders, who turned out to be a husband and wife. Fortenberry, who oversees 16th Section matters for the district, said he thought one of the couple thought the original bid might be outbid by someone else and submitted a higher bid.
Superintendent Jay Smith questioned whether it’s legal for a husband and wife to bid on the same parcel separately.
The point was moot, however, as North Pike’s policy requires 16th Section bidders to be present at the bid opening in order for their bids to be accepted.
The board also:
• Approved administrative pay for employees for a daymissed due to weather.
• Approved advertising for a new bell and intercom system for the high school.
• Approved the same pay rate for bus drivers for field trips and athletic trips as they get for running their regular routes.
• Rescheduled a strategic planning meeting with the Mississippi School Board Association from Jan. 19 to Thursday.
• Set the board’s annual retreat June 22-23.
• Approved advertising the 2023-24 budget June 8 and June 15, with the public hearing set June 22 at 5 p.m. and approval at 5 p.m. June 30.
