[read complete report - pdf]

Audit Objective

Determine whether districts are providing adequate oversight over transportation functions to ensure the safe transportation of students.

Key Findings

• Districts did not sufficiently monitor in-house drivers or contractual transportation vendors.
• Superintendents in five districts did not annually approve all bus drivers.
• Of the 777 bus drivers, 169 (22 percent) did not complete required trainings.
• We found 22 bus drivers (3 percent) were omitted from random drug testing.
• Of the 864 required safety drills, 324 (38 percent) were not completed or adequately documented.
• Districts did not ensure that all pretrip bus safety inspections were completed and reviewed.
• Districts had no formal mechanism for documenting and following up on complaints.

Key Recommendations

• Annually approve all drivers that transport district students, including contracted transportation vendor drivers.
• Take an active role in overseeing the districts’ own transportation departments and contracted vendors’ activities and their compliance with requirements.
• Establish procedures for the intake, documentation and resolution of complaints.

¹ With scope extensions for units