1. Transportation
Recommendations
Devin Vodicka, EdD
March 14, 2013

2. Background and Context
• Informational presentations to School Board
on January 17and February 21
• Projected deficit spending of $14 million
(2013-14) and $19 million (2014-15)
• Three Categories:
– Special Education (Mandated)
– No Child Left Behind/McKinney Vento (Mandated)
– Home To School (Optional)

3. Current Reality
• Home To School (HTS) Services have been
reduced over time due to budget cuts
• 8.9% of students use HTS and Mandated No
Child Left Behind (NCLB) transportation
services
• 3.6% of students use Special Education
transportation services
• Fleet is aging and in need of improvements
3

4. Composition of Bus Fleet
18%
"New"
43%
"Seasoned"
"Retirement"
39%
New: Purchased since 2006
Seasoned: Purchased 1993-2005
Retirement: Purchased prior to 1992 and/or those not compliant with air pollution laws 4

5. 5

6. Doing It Right: Necessary Investments
Item Cost
New Busses $4,000,000
Replace California Natural Gas $180,000
(CNG) Fuel Tanks (2016)
CNG Fuel Station Replacement $500,000
Radio System Upgrades $54,000
TOTAL $4,740,000
• None of these expenses are currently included in
budget assumptions
• Adding these expenses to budget will require cuts
in other areas
6

7. Annual Revenue and Expenses
Transportation Program Revenue Expenses Impact on
(Rounded) (Rounded) Unrestricted
General Fund
Special Education $700,000 $3,600,000 -$2,900,000
Home To School $700,000 $1,700,000 -$1,000,000
(flexible)
• Given projected deficit spending, these are not
sustainable expenses
• CA Base Revenue Deficit Factor is 22.272%
• Governor’s Proposal restores an estimated 1.65%
• Impact of almost $4 million to unrestricted general fund
= Approximately 2% of total budget
7

8. Routes
Mandated Optional
47 Special Education Routes 15 Home To School Routes:
13 McKinney Vento/NCLB Routes • Alamosa Park
• Breeze Hill
1 NCLB Route for Breeze Hill Elementary • Mission Meadows
2 NCLB Routes for Madison Middle and • Monte Vista
Roosevelt Middle • Empresa
1 Mission Vista Shuttle (Settlement • Hannalei
Agreement with City of Oceanside) • Rancho Minerva Middle (shuttle)
• Madison Middle (shuttle)
• Mission Vista (shuttle with stops at
RBV, Washington, Vista High, Mission
Meadows)
8

9. Comparison School Districts
• San Marcos Unified eliminated Home To School transportation
in 2008
• Oceanside Unified eliminated the majority of Home To School
transportation in 2010
• Carlsbad Unified eliminate Home To School transportation prior
to 1999

10. February 21: Proposed Next Steps
• Define target savings
• Refine proposed level of services to reach savings
target
– “Neighborhood School” Special Education Analysis
– Home To School Sites
• Community Meetings in English and Spanish
• Walk Affected Routes
• Propose Solutions to Anticipated Issues
• Recommend Action Item for Board on March 14
10

11. Impact of Next Steps
• Special Education Analysis and cost savings
estimate now available
• Site Meetings surfaced many issues and
potential solutions
• “Walking” affected routes increased
leadership knowledge and empathy
• Additional Steps:
– Meeting(s) with transportation to gather input

12. Special Education: Quick Facts
• 10% = The average rate of Sp. Ed. student population
transported in districts across the state of California.
• 21% = The average rate of Sp. Ed. student population
transported in VUSD.
• 872 = The total number of Sp. Ed. students who have
transportation written into their Individualized Education
Programs (IEP) in VUSD.
• 700 = The total number of students who currently use
transportation services in VUSD.
• $3,600,000 = Total cost of transportation for Sp. Ed. students.

13. Special Education: Next Steps
• Incorporate the use of a transportation
decision tree into the IEP process.
• Develop and utilize a Transportation
Checklist during IEP meetings. Sp. Ed. Transportation Decision Tree
• Base IEP decisions related to transportation
on Least Restrictive Environment for each
student (Ed. Code 41850).
• Revisit the determination of transportation
needs at each annual IEP meeting.
• Recognize that not all students require
specialized transportation to receive
educational benefit.
• Provide staff training in the process for
identifying transportation as an appropriate
related service based on student need.

14. Special Education: Reductions
• Set a three year goal to align Sp. Ed. transportation caseload to the
state average.
– Reduce transportation demand from 21% to 10% of total Sp. Ed. student
population.
• Analyze current transportation caseload (700) to identify areas
where transportation can be consolidated, reduced, or eliminated
through the IEP process.
• Begin the process of moving student case load to a neighborhood
service delivery model.
• Identify students who could return to district programs currently
being serviced outside of the district.
• Realistic Savings Estimate for 2013-14: $350,000

15. Community Outreach: Site Meetings
• Conducted in English and Spanish at the following
sites
– Alamosa Park
– Breeze Hill
– Mission Meadows
– Monte Vista
– Empresa
– Hannalei
– Rancho Minerva Middle
– Madison Middle
– Mission Vista

16. Input: Highlights
School Issues Potential Solutions
Alamosa Park Elementary Crossing Hwy. 76/Safety Charge Fee
Carpool
Morning Only Bussing
Breeze Hill Elementary Intradistrict transfer timeline Charge Fee
Distance from Breeze Hill Expand AM/PM
No car in family Carpool
Change boundaries
Morning Only Bussing
Mission Meadows Elementary Extreme distance for some families Charge Fee
Eliminating bus routes would decrease diversity of school Change boundaries
Carpool
Morning Only Bussing
Monte Vista Elementary Lack of sidewalks/Safety Charge Fee
No car in family Change boundaries
Difficulty for families with students in K and 1st-5th Expand AM/PM
Empresa Elementary Lack of sidewalks Charge Fee
Impacted AM/PM program has wait list Afternoon Only Bussing
Expand AM/PM
Carpool
Do not change boundaries
Hannalei Elementary Crossing railroad tracks Charge Fee
Lack of sidewalks Carpool
Dangerous neighborhoods Crossing Guards
Rancho Minerva Middle Windy Roads/Lack of Sidewalks/Safety Charge Fee
Long distances to cover Carpool
No car in family Change boundaries
Madison Middle Start Times (especially RBV) Charge Fee/Fundraising
Increased traffic Carpool
Limited public transportation options Expand AM/PM
Mission Vista High School Crossing Hwy. 76/Safety Charge Fee
Eliminating bus routes would decrease diversity of school Outsourcing
Reduced enrollment (55% of survey respondents indicated they Expand public transportation options
would send child to another VUSD school)
Negative effect on family work schedules

17. VUSD Bus Fees 2012-2013
• Revenue budgeted: $126,450
• Revenue collected to date: $25,238.12

18. Walking Routes: Mission Meadows

19. Walking Routes: Breeze Hill

20. Walk San Diego

23. Carpools and the “Walking School Bus”

24. Home To School Level of Service
• Currently 15 routes
• Recommend eliminating 11 routes
• Recommend maintaining Breeze Hill and Mission
Meadows
• Continue analysis and maintain option of
maintaining two additional routes
• Realistic Savings Estimate for 2013-14: $770,000

25. Admin Reorganization
• Recommend transition to more efficient
software to increase efficiencies
– Trans Track
• Eliminate 1.0 Full Time Equivalent (FTE) Office
Assistant and 1.0 FTE Vehicle Maintenance
Supervisor
• Realistic Savings Estimate for 2013-14:
$100,000

26. Financial Summary
• Special Education Savings: $350,000
• Elimination of 11 Home To School Routes:
$770,000
• Admin Reorganization: $100,000
• Total: $1,220,000
• Recommendation is to use $1,000,000 to reduce
deficit spending and allocate remainder to
ongoing vehicle replacement allocation

27. Next Steps
• Immediately implement Special Education
recommendations
• Implement Admin Reorganization July 1, 2013
• Promote safe walking routes
• Promote carpooling
• Anticipate Boundary Study 2013-14

29. Additional Guidance for Families
• Intradistrict transfer requests are due March
31, 2013
• If in doubt, please submit the intradistrict
transfer request
– Easy to “withdraw” the request if needed
– Applications will not be accepted after the
deadline

30. Summary
• Recommend approval regarding proposed
transportation savings of $1,220,000 in 2013-14
– Special Education improvements
– Admin Reorganization
– Reduction of 11 Home To School Routes
• Recommend allocating $1,000,000 of savings to
reducing projected fiscal deficits with remainder
to be allocated for vehicle replacements