Kennewick board honors bus drivers and hears plan to trim bus purchases after state depreciation change

The Kennewick School District Board recognized its transportation staff and drivers on Tuesday and heard an update on fleet and routing changes that the district says were prompted by a new state law. April Heizer, the district transportation presenter, told the board the governor signed Senate Bill 6260 changing school-bus depreciation schedules and that the district adjusted planned purchases and cash-flow planning as a result.

Heizer said the bill alters depreciation on Type C and D buses from 13 to 15 years (with Type A moving from eight to 10 years) and that the change was applied retroactively to Sept. 1. "Using the 13 model right now we have 17 buses off of the depreciation schedule," she said, and to protect the district’s OSPI payment in August the district reduced its planned bus purchase from nine to seven.

Heizer also gave fleet numbers and disposal plans: the district operates about 138 buses and will request to surplus six older vehicles (model years 2004–2010), which would drop the fleet to about 132 buses. She said the transportation department currently moves roughly 10,220 students daily and that the department includes drivers, attendants, mechanics, dispatchers and administrative staff.

The presentation covered the district’s replacement of VersaTrans with a BusRight routing system and tablet-based routing for drivers. Heizer said route completion is at about 98 percent, tablets provide two-second GPS updates and turn-by-turn navigation, and the district is piloting the BusRight parent app with the IT director and a dispatcher. Parents will receive secure email invitations and—Heizer emphasized—will be able to see only their own child’s ride information; the app is limited to three accounts per student in BusRight’s current configuration.

Board members asked about driver feedback and a learning curve with the tablets; Heizer acknowledged minor issues such as correct use of a "skip" function and said the district will roll out the app school-by-school beginning with a small elementary in May to troubleshoot problems before broader implementation. Board members suggested distributing flyers at fall open houses to ensure parents receive information about the new app.

The superintendent and board praised drivers for their role in students’ school-day experience and for the broader transportation team that supports safe student transport. The district plans additional coordination with OSPI and the business office as it finalizes bus purchases and surpluses ahead of the August funding calculation.