In the heart of rural Tennessee, Stewart County Schools spans over 400 square miles, with just two traffic lights and a student population of around 1,900.

For decades, the district’s transportation system relied on the experience and memory of longtime Transportation Director Eric Watkins, who knows every road, house, and student by heart. But as Watkins contemplates retirement, he realized the next person in his role wouldn’t have the same institutional knowledge. That’s when Transfinder entered the picture—and changed everything.

“I’ve always said that my routing is in my head, but my head is getting very old,” he joked, “and it’s getting close to the time for me to call it quits here one of these days. I just said, ‘Listen, the next person that does my job is going to have something [Transfinder] because they don’t know where the roads are, they don’t know where the houses are, they don’t know where the kids are.”

Watkins had seen Transfinder at trade shows for years but always assumed it was too expensive for a small district like his. That changed when he met representatives from Transfinder, who walked him through the full package and pricing.

Watkins took the proposal to the school board with a clear message: “You either do it today or you do it when I leave. But at some point, you’re going to have to do it because I’m not going to be here forever.”

He successfully made his case and “they let me have the entire package,” he said.

Watkins was so confident in Transfinder’s award-winning solutions that he told the board that the technology would save enough money to pay for itself.

He was right.

One of the first major wins came from route optimization. Stewart County operates 32 bus routes, transporting about 1,500 students daily. With Transfinder’s GPS and mapping tools, Watkins could see exactly where each student lived, when they were picked up, and how long each route took.

This visibility is helping him consolidate routes without cutting jobs. When a driver announced an upcoming retirement, Watkins uses Routefinder PLUS to see where he can combine routes among existing drivers.

Watkins said he could easily adjust nearby routes and start shifts 15 minutes earlier which will essentially absorb that route. That single change eliminated the need to hire a replacement and saved enough money to cover the entire cost of Transfinder for the year.

But the savings didn’t stop there.

Using Transfinder’s fleet maintenance and inventory management tool Servicefinder, the district’s mechanics gained remote access to bus diagnostics. If a driver reports a warning light, the garage can instantly assess the issue and advise whether the bus can continue on its route or if it needs to be swapped out. This reduces downtime, avoids unnecessary dispatches, and keeps students on schedule.

Transfinder also helped improve fleet management. Watkins now monitors every bus on a 32-inch screen in his office, tracking location, speed, fuel levels, and more. Even buses on field trips 100 miles away are visible. This level of oversight has improved safety, accountability, and efficiency across the board.

The district is also rolling out Viewfinder, which allows school secretaries to instantly access bus assignments for students—no more radio calls or delays. “We’re in a different world now,” Watkins said. Now school officials can assist those elementary students about what bus to get on.

Tripfinder is another tool Watkins is excited about. Previously, the district used a separate system for field trip scheduling, but Tripfinder will allow drivers to log mileage and time directly, automatically generating invoices and sending them to payroll. It’s a seamless process that saves time and reduces paperwork.

Watkins also championed Stopfinder, a parent app that provides real-time bus tracking. “It was all me,” he said. “I want parents to have every bit of knowledge they can have. Plus, they won’t be calling me asking where the bus is.”

It’s a game-changer.

The impact of Transfinder on Stewart County Schools goes beyond savings. It’s about preparing the district for the future, improving safety, and serving the community more effectively. Watkins, who has served the district for 38 years, sees Transfinder as a legacy investment.

Watkins is sold on Transfinder.

“It’s been exactly what they told me it would be,” he said.

In a place where relationships matter and every dollar counts, Transfinder has proven to be more than just software—it’s a partner in progress.

To learn more about Transfinder’s award-winning solutions, call 800-373-3609, email solutions@transfinder.com or visit transfinder.com.

The views expressed are those of the content sponsor and do not reflect those of School Transportation News.

The post How Transfinder Helped Tennessee District Save Money and Modernize Transportation appeared first on School Transportation News.

A Fayette County school bus driver is under investigation after reportedly leaving a group of young children unattended inside a restaurant while he ordered breakfast and used the restroom during his morning route, reported Fox 13.

The incident reportedly happened on Aug. 7 when the driver pulled up with five elementary-aged students estimated to be between 5 and 7 years old and brought them into the restaurant. Cyndi Oliver, owner of Sweet Creations & Our Daily Bread in La Grange, Tennessee, said the school bus driver told her he couldn’t leave the children alone on the bus, so he escorted them inside before heading to the restroom.

“He came back in and said, ‘You know, I really can’t leave the kids on the bus,’” Oliver recalled. “Then he went to the restroom and left the children here.”

Oliver said the students were left sitting at a table, unsupervised, for about 10 minutes while the driver was in the restroom. After receiving his order, the driver reportedly returned to the bus, parked across the street and ate his meal before continuing his route.

According to the news report, Oliver was concerned about what she saw and contacted the Fayette County School Board immediately but said she didn’t receive a response for several hours. She later posted about the incident in a local community Facebook group, urging parents of children who ride bus No. 73 to reach out.

“Ten minutes is a long time,” she said via the report. “If I hadn’t been that person, I could have asked any one of those children to come with me … and they would have gone.”

In response, Fayette County Public Schools issued a statement via the article acknowledging the incident and confirming that the situation is under review.

“Student safety is our top priority, and we take this matter very seriously,” the statement reads. “The situation is currently under investigation in accordance with district policy and procedures. Because this is a personnel matter, we are unable to provide further details at this time.”

Oliver said she was later contacted by a school district official who assured her that steps would be taken to prevent similar incidents in the future. However, the district has not provided details regarding those specific measures when contacted by local news reporters.

As of this report, the bus driver’s status with the district remains unclear pending the outcome of the investigation.

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The post Tennessee School Bus Driver Under Investigation After Leaving Children Unattended appeared first on School Transportation News.

A Nashville family is raising serious concerns after a 5-year-old kindergartner with autism was mistakenly placed on a school bus and then left wandering alone for nearly an hour on Monday afternoon, reported WSMV 4.

Zontrail Brinson, a nonverbal student at Ida B. Wells Elementary School, was supposed to be picked up by a parent at school dismissal. However, school officials said there was a “tagging error,” and Brinson was placed on a school bus then dropped off several blocks away, alone and unsupervised.

“It’s scary. I wouldn’t want to be alone by myself, especially being nonverbal,” said Rosalind Derrick, Brinson’s grandmother.

She explained that the family only learned of the incident when Brinson’s mother arrived at the school to pick him up and was told he wasn’t there.

Derrick told local news reporters that Brinson was dropped off at the intersection of 7th Street and Howerton, near Meigs Middle School, and began walking down the sidewalk. She said the school bus driver briefly spoke to the child but received no response and allowed him to exit the bus.

“When you didn’t see an adult, you should have just called the school or taken him back to the school,” she advised.

Brinson was eventually located by a police officer at a nearby playground and safely reunited with his family. While thankful unharmed, Derrick said the ordeal is every parent and guardian’s nightmare.

“I’m a praying grandmother. I was just praying and trusting that he would be found and everything would be okay,” she said.

Metro Nashville Public Schools (MNPS) acknowledged the incident and apologized.

“We deeply regret the distress this caused the family and are grateful the student was found safe,” said Sean Braisted, a district spokesperson. “As soon as the school was notified, staff and a school resource officer responded quickly and located the student at a park near his home. The school and transportation teams are reviewing the incident and reinforcing dismissal protocols to help ensure this does not happen again.”

Braisted clarified that as part of MNPS’s onboarding process, all kindergarten students zoned for school bus service receive a transportation tag. In this case, a teacher mistakenly attached a bus tag to Brinson’s backpack, which led to him being placed on a school bus despite the family’s plan for him to be picked up.

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