Recommendations:
1.The San Mateo
County Superintendent of Schools should put the Pupil Transportation
Services contract out to competitive bid prior to the end of the current
contract period.
2. The San Mateo
County Superintendent of Schools should immediately create a system
to periodically monitor the contractor to enforce compliance with the
contract.
3. Whenever possible,
routes should be kept to under an hour long. Alternately, routes that
are longer than one hour should have a scheduled bathroom break at a
school facility.
4. The San Mateo
County Superintendent of Schools should ensure that information relevant
to the safety and comfort of the children, including the observations
of the bus drivers, is included on the route sheets given to drivers.
5. The San Mateo
County Superintendent of Schools should annually survey parents, guardians,
and teachers about the level of service to identify any problems that
need to be corrected.
6. The San Mateo
County Superintendent of Schools should establish a formal feedback
procedure in which: a) complaints are forwarded to the contractor for
response and proposed corrective action, and b) written records of complaints
and responses are maintained, and c) meetings are held with the contractor,
at least semi-annually, to review complaints and resolutions measures.
7. The next contract
should provide that background checks be performed at least every three
years on all drivers to the extent allowed by law.
.