School board may consider pilot program for GPS devices on district vehicles

By JIM BROOKS
Nelson County Gazette / WBRT Radio

Board member Larry Pate listens while Tim Hockensmith, the district’s chief operating officer, describes a pilot program to install GPS devices on district-owned, non-school bus vehicles.

Thursday, Nov. 6, 2014, 9:45 p.m. — The Nelson County School District Board of Education heard details Thursday of a pilot program that would install GPS devices on district-owned vehicles, excluding — for now — the district’s fleet of school buses.

District Chief Operating Officer Tim Hockensmith explained that the pilot program will allow the district to evaluate if the technology can help identify ways to use its vehicles more efficiently by better planning how they are used.

Superintendent Anthony Orr said if the board approves the pilot program, his district-provided vehicle will be the first equipped with a GPS. If the program provides useful data, then the board may with to consider expanding it to include the school bus fleet.

Using the GPS program on the bus fleet is where the technology could bring significant savings to the district, Hockensmith said. The technology could allow the district to fine tune its bus routes and improve efficiency and cut costs.

Board member Diane Berry voiced her concern that the program would might imply the district didn’t trust its employees to use vehicles responsibly. Orr noted that the goal is to find efficiency and cost-savings, not install a system to be used punitively. Berry said she wanted to see proof of the benefits of the GPS system.

The cost to the district for the pilot program is $25 per month per vehicle, Hockensmith said. The pilot program will allow the district to evaluate the technology before making a larger financial commitment. The board will formally consider the proposal at a future board meeting.

SURPLUS COPIERS. Hockensmith told the board that the company providing the district with new leased copiers will have the new ones installed within the week.

Some of the old ones will be sent for recycling, but some of the copiers are less than five years old and have useful service life left. Hockensmith said once the copiers are declared surplus property, the ones that are worth using again can be offered to non-profit organizations that may be able to use them.

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