MINUTES - SCRIPPS RANCH BUS COMMITTEE 

September 25, 2018 @ 7:00pm 

Scripps Ranch Library, Seminar Room 

 

Present: T. Philips, D. Fetherling, P. Mills, G. Faber, C. Walbridge
Absent: W. Konold, M. Fetherling
Number in audience: 0

Welcome!  
Call to order – T. Philips called the meeting to order at 7pm.
Roll Call - T. Philips, D. Fetherling, P. Mills, G. Faber, C. Walbridge.
W. Konold and M. Fetherling sent their apologies. 

Modifications to the Agenda – Swan Lake morning pick-up problems added to Action Items.

Non-Agenda Public Comment - None

Approval of Minutes - The minutes from August 28, 2018 were approved 4-0-1 without modification. Motioned by G. Faber and seconded by D. Fetherling.

Discussion Items/Presentations. 

Update on Communication - San Diego Unified School District – P. Mills reviewed a number of issues we have had with the District including manifest and payment errors. All have been resolved. 

Scripps Ranch Cluster Schools – The committee met for the first time and discussed possible partnerships with local businesses and also the recent change in Area Superintendent. G. Faber will be meeting with the FFA presidents from all schools next week and will review the help needed from them to get the word out about our program.

Update on Registration, Lottery and Assignment of Seats – 79 children are currently on wait list and 8 returning riders missed registration.

Action Items 

Non-Payment Enforcement Guidelines - Payment for first semester bus services was due Sept 19th so is now past due. The second semester payment will be due Jan 31st.  It was felt that the committee does not have the time to chase those who have not paid however agreed that manifest problems could have been averted this year if we had a nonpayment policy in place. P. Mills motioned that if payment in full for the current year has not been received at the District Office by the last day of registration, families would not be eligible to register or ride the coming year.  Seconded by C. Walbridge and passed unanimously. 

It was agreed that nonpayment rules along with the 3 strikes policy will be added to the registration form and also that a reminder will be sent to families at the beginning of January that 2nd semester payments are due before Jan 31st. 

Increase in Bus Seating Limits -  We no longer have siblings waiting for seats and it was felt that increasing seating at this time would not be wise however it is good to know that if a situation arose we would have options. 

Three Strikes Policy – Enforcement – Regrettably the District handed Z-passes to the bus drivers rather than the school so it was not possible to check cards against manifests and mark them so we could review throughout the year to ensure kids are riding the right bus. Hopefully now the 3 strikes policy has been adopted, families and children will behave more honorably and we hope to mark the cards and monitor next year. 

Change in start time for SRBC Meetings - P. Mills motioned to change the meeting start time to 6:30pm following the library’s change in policy to ensure that meetings end before 8pm. This will give more time if needed, especially for public comment.  Seconded by C. Walbridge and unanimously approved. The October 23rd meeting will start at 6:30pm. 

SRBC Meeting Dates for December and April - The Library is not available December 11th or April 9th. T. Philips to see if Dec 4th is available and it was agreed that the information meeting proposed for April 9th could be incorporated in the March 19th meeting. T. Philips to also confirm that May 7th is available for the Lottery. Change in dates motioned by C. Walbridge and Seconded by D. Fetherling and unanimously approved. 

Wait Time for New Riders - The District takes 2 weeks to update changes to the manifest and get Z-Passes for new riders. To simplify the process P. Mills motioned to tell new families that their seat will be available 2 weeks from the date their conformation was received.  Seconded by C. Walbridge and unanimously approved. 

Registration Safeguards - There have been a large number of changes to the manifests in the past month which cause both the committee and the District problems. The committee discussed ways to gain a better commitment from families however without collecting payment, which all agreed should not be dealt with by the committee, there was little we could do. This is an ongoing issue and will be discussed again. 

Swan Lake/Farmingdale complaint – We have received a complaint that the morning bus at Swan Lake and Winding Ridge is blocking a driveway and children are encroaching on the property. P. Mills viewed the situation 9/25/18 and it is unacceptable. T. Philips suggested asking the District to move the pickup point to Farmingdale and P. Mills will contact District to discuss.
UPDATE: Due to road restrictions moving the stop is not possible however the District has spoken to the driver to ensure the bus pulls forward to park in front of the vacant lot next to the homeowner's property. A letter asking children to wait south of the street light pole has been sent and it is hoped this will solve the issue.

Open Discussion - None 

Adjournment - Meeting adjourned at 7:54pm.