Field Trip Request Process for Staff
All field trips shall be requested using Traversa Advanced Trips software program. This includes all modes of transportation: school bus, SPAB (charter) and district and rental vehicles.
**New** The approved drivers' list will now be maintained and located in the Traversa portal. The driver must first be cleared in order to assign them on a van trip. If the driver is ineligible, they will not appear on the drop down to be assigned to a trip. The initiator may togle between active and inactive to view the employee's certification to determine what is required for a particular driver to re-establish eligibility.
School Bus Trips
School bus trips can be requested as early as 1 year but no less than two weeks in advance and are subject to availability. Traversa Advanced Trips will allow requestors to check the status of their trip at any time. It is strongly advised that the requestor review their trip and request any changes two days prior to their trip date to avoid any late cancelations or abuse of district funds charges. Please be sure to check for accuracy of times and passenger counts. Athletics and curriculum-based trips are very important to the district. However, home-to-school transportation must remain the priority. Driver resources are very limited.
- If there is more than 1 bus requested and the passenger count is so that they all fit on one bus, the group will be billed according to Site Cancellation Scenarios and Charges and the 2nd bus will be released from the trip assignment.
- The group must all be present and ready to depart at the scheduled departure time and return times. If the group is not present at the time of departure, the trip bus may be released to cover a home-to-school route if necessary. Another bus and driver will be dispatched to the departure location when one becomes available.
- While on a trip, communication with the teacher/coach and driver is imperative. Groups, such as athletic teams should plan or ask the group in advance if parents will be present and will transport them home, if the event starts late or goes into overtime. This communication should be shared with the driver as soon as possible to release the driver from their duties. This may ultimately result in allowing the driver to assist with an uncovered route or permitting them to return to duty the following morning.
All trips that travel out-of-state, over 150 miles and/or overnight, require prior board approval per AR 6153. Trips will need to be entered in Traversa Advanced Trips as well as recieve board approval that is now submitted via InformedK-12. When submitting an approval request using vans or charter buses, please verify the names of the drivers as approved drivers as well as the approved charter company if it's a SPAB trip prior to submitting the request to the board for approval to prevent delays. Incomplete approval requests will be returned to the requestor until completed.
Charter Bus (SPAB) Trips
SPAB trip requests must be reserved through the Transportation Department to ensure that the charter company meets the district requirements regardless of funding source. All SPAB trips require the completion of the Field Trip and Driver Information Form in accordance with VC28160.SPAB Field Trip and Driver Info This completed form shall be returned to the Transportation Department as soon as practical.
Vans Trips
Vans #17-24 are leased through Enterprise Fleet Management. Most maintenance and services are provided outside of our district under the lease program. In addition, roadside services are available if a mechanical issue occurs while on a trip. The assigned Enterprise maintenance cards should be located in the appropriate van binder.
School sites are responsible for the proper care of district vans and should be kept clean at all times. Vans may be driven to the bus yard and cleaned by their own site personnel. There are shop vacuums and a designated wash bay made available. Sites will access a google Bus wash calendar to find a time slot that can be reserved for this purpose. A fee based alternative would be to utilize a self carwash associated with a CFN fueling station. A basic car was and vacuum service is permitted.
Fuel cards are assigned to each van. Fuel cards are widely accepted at fueling stations that honor CFN. Please plan accordingly. You can visit CFN site locator or download their app for Android or Apple. Fuel cards should only be used for district vehicles for district business. Be sure to print and retain fuel receipts. There is a need to reconcile each CFN transaction. Each site has extra fuel cards for when rental vehicles are planned. Sites are responsible for tracking and monitoring fuel cards. If any card is lost, stolen or damaged, please contact Transportation ASAP to cancel the card to prevent misuse.
*For student safety, all district vans and school buses have GPS reporting.