Magnolia Independent School District has been recognized by Tyler Technologies as the 2016 Tyler Public Sector Excellence Award Winner. Located in southern Texas, Magnolia ISD found that the software provided by Tyler Technologies works hand-in-hand with the changing needs of the transportation department.
When Joe Dives joined Magnolia ISD as director of transportation in 2007, he discovered his department lagged behind in some modern technologies. For one, bus routing still relied on paper and manual data entry to cover a district that consisted of more than 150 square miles. Yet, improving these inadequacies was hindered by budgetary constraints.
“I was also informed there would be a 10-percent reduction from the previous year’s budget. This 10-percent reduction came at a time when fuel prices soared from the $1.50 per gallon range to over $4.00 per gallon,” Dives said.
He managed to bring the transportation department into the 21st century and reduce overall spending by introducing the Versatrans Routing and Planning software into operations, and Dives noticed that “things began to fall into place.”
“Although the district experienced a 30 percent increase in the number of students since 2007, transportation operating costs dropped by over $1 million,” Dives said. “Routes and personnel were reduced, which allowed us to use funds that otherwise would not have been available to help improve our aging bus fleet.”
With budgetary issues stabilized, Dives implemented a number of other Tyler Technologies software upgrades into service that allowed transportation operations to become “much more efficient, reliable and accessible to all parties involved in the process.”
“I am very appreciative for everything (Tyler Technologies) products have done to help us improve the quality of service we are able to provide to our children,” Dives said.
