St. Martin Parish school bus safety program to help keep track of students and drivers
ST. MARTIN PARISH, La. (KLFY) -- The St. Martin Parish School Board has decided to implement a bus safety program for students getting on and off the bus.
The system, called Zonar, allows students can scan themselves in when entering the bus and getting dropped off.
St. Martin Parish Superintendent Al Blanchard told News 10 that "You can search and see what bus they rode that day and where they got on or where they got off."
The school board first purchased Zonar during COVID to keep track of students in case of an outbreak. Now, Zonar will soon be used for all bus-riding students to keep track of where they are.
There are other benefits to the system as well like a G.P.S. system inside the school bus in the case of an emergency.
"You can run a history of where the bus has been," Blanchard said. "It will tell you how long the bus was idling. It has a lot of features on it. They are very nice features to have in a transportation system."
The school board has many plans to maintain safety for everyone in the school district. Blanchard told News 10 that this is just one example of what is to come.
"We have a number of things we are doing to make sure we ensure safety at the schools. This is just one more component of that [which] we are trying to put in place."
Blanchard is hoping everything will be up and running by the beginning of next school year.