The position of training foreman has been vacant since August 1998. The position has not been filled due to the Transportation Services' hiring freeze, which will continue pending a decision on privatizing transportation. Although an official calendar for the decision on privatization of student transportation has not been adopted by KISD, the administrative assistant for Business Services, who is coordinating release of a request for proposals, said a decision on privatization may not be made until the 2000-01 school year. With a high turnover rate of 31 percent, the Transportation Services Department must train 61 new drivers each school year.
Driver training is now the part-time responsibility of the operations foreman.
The operations foreman's primary responsibilities are safety and field supervision of drivers. However, since the operations foreman drives a school bus route each day and also trains new driver candidates, he does not have time to focus on safety issues. Recruit and hire a training specialist for Transportation Services. Safety is the most important aspect of student transportation. The position of training foreman should be reclassified as the training specialist, responsible for new driver training and retraining for current employees.