Parents will be able to track kids’ bus routes
Montgomery Independent School District parents soon will be able to track their child’s bus route.
For the 2023-24 school year, parents and the district’s transportation department will use a SMART tag monitoring system. Students will be assigned an ID card that will register when and where they get on and off their school bus. The system also would provide bus arrival notifications for parents and school administrators.
The ID cards are read via a passive radio-frequency chip containing a unique identification number and is read through a SMART tag on-board tablet.
The school district paid for the $50,000 in new technology through the district’s $326 million bond passed in May 2022.
Several districts in the greater Houston area have implemented similar technology to address safety and security concerns, with Conroe and Klien being some of the recent districts to implement the system.
Montgomery ISD Superintendent Heath Morrison said the tracking system offers another way to keep students safe, not only at school, but also when they’re being transported to and from campus.
“This is just another way for us to be able to make sure we can account for the students once they’ve gotten on the bus and when they leave,” Morrison said. “Especially early in the year as kids are getting familiar with the (bus) routes and bus drivers are getting familiar with their students.”
About 4,300 students in the district use school transportation every day, said Transportation Director Aric Taylor during a district board meeting. The district has a total of 65 school buses, with 12 for students with disabilities.
The technology would allow parents to be notified where their child has left and notify them if there’s any delays due to traffic, Morrison said.
The district has made efforts to increase security and safety in the past.
It added more campus police officers to its budget, allowing one officer at each campus and two at each high school. The district launched a “Stop The Prop” campaign, educating students and staff of the importance of making sure campus doors are fully closed. It also implemented the use of the “Rave Panic Button,” which would allow users to summon police, medical or fire personnel with the touch of one button on their cell phone.
The district began working on a strategic plan a couple of years ago, Morrison said. And one of the most important goals, next to education, was safety.
“It’s not like you’re ever oneand-done with school safety,” Morrison said .“You’ re constantly monitoring your data ... evaluating situations ... checking to see if there’s something out there ... some new piece of technology ... something that would make our school safer. And we’re always open to those suggestions.”