District Overhauls Transportation With GPS Routing, Real-Time Parent App

The Jefferson Union High School District is modernizing how it moves its most vulnerable students. Transportation Director Darnell Garcia delivered a sweeping presentation to the Governing Board on Monday night, detailing a technology overhaul that will replace paper-and-pencil route planning with GPS software and give parents of special education students real-time van tracking by month's end — even as the department struggles with driver shortages that threaten field trip capacity.

• District adopts GPS routing software and plans real-time parent tracking app as transportation routes grow from 16 to 19 to serve more special education students

• Five van driver vacancies and bus drivers filling van routes create a looming capacity crunch as field trip season approaches

• Van drivers pull double duty as campus beautification crew, transforming school grounds during midday downtime between routes

• Board approves new salary range and assistant position to address compensation gaps and growing administrative complexity

• Student advisory program named CSBA award finalist, with a site visit planned for the next meeting

From Paper Routes to Parent Apps: Transportation Gets a Tech Upgrade

Transportation Director Darnell Garcia — promoted from head district mechanic about a year ago — gave the board its first comprehensive transportation briefing in recent memory, walking trustees through the state of a fleet serving special education students across four communities.

The basics: The district operates 22 vans and 10 buses, staffed by one dispatcher, five bus drivers, 16 van drivers, and a single mechanic. Five work trucks have been designated for disposal. The department serves students with IEPs in grades 9–12 and adult school, covering routes in Brisbane, Daly City, Pacifica, and — new this year — South City.

Why it matters: Transportation demand is climbing. Routes jumped from 16 to 19 this school year as more students with IEPs require home-to-school service. That growth has strained a department already contending with five unfilled van driver positions and a single mechanic responsible for the entire fleet.

Where things stand: The headline change is technology. Garcia adopted Transfinder routing software over the summer, replacing a manual system built on paper, pencils, and driver experience.

"Before I became the director we did not have these tools or systems in place. Routes were built using a more traditional manual process with paper pencils," said Darnell Garcia, Transportation Director. "Today we use technologies to build more accurate, efficient routes, track students and help ensure that no student is left behind."

Garcia acknowledged the learning curve was steep: "Me and my dispatcher. It was a lot to learn this whole summer. And it was either crash or burn in the start of the school."

The department is also moving vehicle inspections to digital tablets to comply with SB88, a state law enacted last year requiring documented pre- and post-trip inspections for van drivers. And a parent-facing app called Stop Finder is expected to launch by the end of September, allowing families to track van arrivals in real time — limited to their own home address for privacy.

The Staffing Gap

The more pressing concern is personnel. Five of the department's bus drivers are currently covering van routes because of the van driver vacancies. When bus trip season begins, those drivers will need to return to bus duty — leaving gaps in home-to-school service.

"Our logistics team is so great, and our dispatching that we make it work somehow," Garcia said.

To build longer-term capacity, a pilot program is training four van drivers to earn Class B licenses, which would allow them to operate Type 1 school buses carrying up to 15 students — nearly double the eight-student van capacity. The certification process takes six to 10 months.

Vice President Rosie Tejada pressed on whether one mechanic is sufficient for the entire fleet. Garcia was candid: "We're working through that."

Trustee Andy Lie praised the depth of the presentation: "I can't remember last time we had something at this level of detail, and especially with the integration and implementation of new technology."

What's next: The Stop Finder parent app is expected to go live by the end of September. The Class B driver licensing pilot will unfold over the coming months. The board will need to monitor whether the five van driver vacancies can be filled before bus trip demands pull bus drivers off van routes.

Van Drivers Transform School Campuses on Midday Shifts

Tucked inside the transportation presentation was a lesser-known initiative: a beautification crew that Garcia launched last year with staff member Marcus Peppers. Three van drivers use their midday downtime — the gap between morning and afternoon routes — to tackle landscaping and facility improvement projects across district schools.

"After they're done driving in their AM route, they come back to me and Marcus and we have projects for them at each site," Garcia said. "Two to three hours of working during the day, they go back and doing their PM route."

Before-and-after photos of Thordin and Terra Nova showed significant improvements, including replacing dry weeds with premium red mulch and enhancing signage visibility. Once a beautification project is completed, the maintenance team takes over on a recurring schedule to sustain the work.

Trustee Jerome Gallegos praised the effort and its visual impact: "What you're doing with your beautification stuff is really cool. Giving our schools curbside appeal is, I think, really meaningful to the kids."

Superintendent Toni Presta noted evidence of the crew's work across the district, citing improvements at Westmore and new field work.

Why it matters: The program generates visible campus improvements without requiring additional hires, using existing payroll hours that would otherwise go idle. The key question going forward is whether the maintenance department can sustain what the beautification crew builds.

Board Closes Pay Gap, Creates New Administrative Position

Salary Schedule Fix

The board unanimously approved adding Range 53 to the confidential salary schedule. Ms. Lujan, staff, explained that the existing schedule jumped from Range 50 directly to Range 62 — a 20% increase with no intermediate step.

"In reviewing the salary schedule, we noticed that the upper ranges went from 50 to 62, which was this 20% increase," Lujan said. "We wanted to add a Range 53, which is only 5% increase in recognition of positions that might be slightly above a Range 50."

Decisions: Approved unanimously by voice vote (For: 4, Against: 0, Absent: 1). Trustee Kalimah Brest was absent due to illness.

New Assistant Position

The board also approved a new confidential position: an assistant to the Deputy Superintendent of Educational Services. Lujan explained that while the Deputy Superintendent of Business Services already has an assistant, the Educational Services counterpart does not — despite growing operational demands, particularly around IT system coordination after board meetings.

"Several of our systems don't speak to each other," Lujan said. "Following a board meeting, we need someone who can really manage making sure accounts are active, inactive, and really tracking that with high level of attention to detail."

Vice President Tejada asked whether this was an additional headcount. Lujan clarified that an existing administrative assistant in the department handles lower-level technical work, but the new role requires higher-level independent thinking, decision making, and project management.

Decisions: Approved unanimously by voice vote (For: 4, Against: 0, Absent: 1).

Minor Items

• Consent agenda approved unanimously, covering routine business items (voice vote, For: 4, Against: 0, Absent: 1).

• Provisional internship permit approved for a social science teacher completing economics subject matter competency through San Francisco State, allowing the district to avoid a classroom vacancy while the teacher finishes credentialing (voice vote, For: 4, Against: 0, Absent: 1).

• CSBA award finalist: Superintendent Toni Presta announced the district's student advisory program has been named a finalist for a California School Boards Association award. "We actually applied for an award, and we are finalists, and a representative from CSBA is going to come to our next student advisory meeting to kind of see us in action," Presta said.

• HOPE Walk: Trustee LaSaundra Gutter reported attending the HOPE Walk in Pacifica, which featured a "Hidden in Plain Sight" activity simulating a teenager's bedroom with concealed contraband — an exercise designed to educate parents about youth substance risks.

• Back-to-school nights: Board members shared positive reports from back-to-school events at Westmore, Terra Nova, and Jefferson. Presta noted she has been visiting classrooms every Monday across the district.

• AFT Local 1481: Union representative Mr. Kube reported on leadership development within the local, school site visits, and engagement with the California Federation of Teachers on statewide and local elections.

• Board President Sherrett Walker noted Trustee Brest was absent due to illness. The meeting adjourned at 7:43 p.m.