When Chris Davidson started as an assistant foreman over bus maintenance for Fort Worth ISD in 2004, the district’s bus shop felt like a team.
He and 20 colleagues took pride in keeping students safe — and keeping costs low. But over the years, Davidson told trustees during a March 25 board meeting, things changed. Morale dipped. Staffing thinned. Buses weren’t arriving on time.
At that March meeting, he and two other colleagues warned that outsourcing maintenance — which trustees approved that night for $7 million — would cost taxpayers more and only worsen the department’s challenges.
Two weeks later, Fort Worth ISD’s newly hired executive director of transportation, Nathan Graf, didn’t just defend the district’s outsourcing decision. During an April 8 trustee meeting, he laid out a sweeping transformation of the entire department.
Graf, who joined the district in February, said Fort Worth ISD’s bus system needs more than just a tuneup.
He proposed changes to staffing, routing, dispatch, training and recruitment, all aimed at rebuilding trust among staff, increasing efficiency and improving safety for students.
“I have not seen anything over the last five weeks that we truly cannot overcome,” Graf said. “My goal for our transportation department is to be the best — not just in the city, but in the state and in the nation.”
Graf consolidates terminals, restructures department to improve service and communication
Graf previously led transportation departments in Houston and San Antonio ISDs and has conducted operational reviews for major urban districts across the country. In Fort Worth, he’s already consolidated bus terminals and restructured the department’s leadership chart.
The district currently operates from three terminals.
By the start of next school year, all drivers will report to the Clark Street location. That shift, Graf said, will streamline communication and make it easier to assign backup drivers when needed.
The Clark terminal will also be home to a new dispatch center with seven service windows — an upgrade from the two-window setup in place now.
“It was more like an office, not a real dispatch center,” Graf said. “Drivers were waiting in line to get keys with little to no personal interaction.”
He also introduced a new organizational chart for the department, streamlining reporting lines and assigning transportation managers to specific geographic zones. That means schools will now have a single point of contact when problems arise.
New job fairs, streamlined routes and a focus on literacy
One of Graf’s earlier observations: Fort Worth ISD didn’t have an ongoing recruiting strategy for bus drivers. The last job fair he could find was in October, he said. That’s changing immediately.
The department now hosts weekly job fairs, led by longtime transportation staff. Graf tapped drivers to serve as recruiters and asked the district’s communications team to push out targeted ads and signage.
“On any given day, we have a significant number of routes that we’re juggling to fill — between vacancies, absences and medical leave,” he said. “We’re responsible for making sure we’re staffed.”
The district had 216 routes when Graf arrived. He hopes to reduce that number to 190 by August through more efficient routing, allowing the district to decrease the number of drivers needed. His goal is to recruit about 30 drivers by June, enough to meet the new route count with a buffer for daily absences.
The department must also play a bigger role in supporting student success, he said, starting with safety and on-time arrivals but extending to literacy.
Under a new “reading rollers” initiative, drivers will become “reading captains,” playing age-appropriate audiobooks with sound effects during daily bus rides. Buses could feature decorations themed around that month’s book, like “Cat in the Hat” or astronomy.
The goal is to engage students, reduce behavioral issues and support the district’s focus on reading.
“That’s 45 minutes in the morning and 45 in the afternoon we can use,” Graf said. “Plus, it makes the drivers feel like they’re part of something bigger — a part of the kids’ education.”
Technology upgrades are coming, too.
The district will pilot a new routing platform, Transfinder Plus, this spring. By next fall, families will be able to receive text alerts if a bus is late, track routes in real time and receive updates about lost items.
Students will eventually scan on and off each bus, allowing staff to trace back items like backpacks or instruments.
Trustees back outsourcing plan despite mechanics’ concerns
But some of the department’s new direction hinges on the $7 million maintenance contract with Cincinnati-based school transportation solutions company First Student, which trustees unanimously approved March 25.
Under the agreement, First Student will manage and operate Fort Worth ISD’s fleet of 240 buses. The company will embed its staff at district facilities, offering current technicians the option to stay with the district or join the private company.
District officials said the partnership promises potential cost savings of up to 20%.
But Davidson and other mechanics who spoke in March are skeptical.
“Why pay a contractor for a job that I, the employee, already is being paid for?” mechanic Jose Lopez asked trustees.
Administrators said the First Student partnership will improve service, expand capacity and reduce costly breakdowns through predictive analytics, certified technicians and real-time diagnostics.
To improve morale, Graf said he’s focused on giving employees a voice. He’s already launched driver-led teams to help shape field trip assignments, handbook revisions and routing plans.
“We heard that drivers didn’t feel like they had a seat at the table,” Graf said. “Any decision we make — they’re part of it now.”
Trustees praised Graf’s enthusiasm and direction.
“I’ve talked to several people,” trustee Tobi Jackson said. “I kind of heard you were coming in and thought, ‘Ain’t nobody that good.’ But I have to be honest — you’ve changed my mind.”
His work is far from over.
The real test will come in August, he said, when school starts, buses roll out and drivers start scanning students onto colorfully decorated buses full of readers.
Matthew Sgroi is an education reporter for the Fort Worth Report. Contact him at matthew.sgroi@fortworthreport.org or @matthewsgroi1.
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