Want to know where your child is at any given moment on a Henry County public school bus? There’s an app for that.

  Well, there will be for the 2020-2021 school year. The Henry County Board of Education voted at its April 20 business meeting to approve an updated GPS system for its bus fleet at a cost of $166,219 annually. The agreement is for one year but is also renewable for up to four additional years.

  According to a briefing by district chief operations officer Josh Malcom, the new system will allow for updated GPS, driver navigation, automated time and attendance, and a parent notification system through a “Here Comes The Bus” app that a parent or guardian can install on a smartphone or tablet to show the real-time location of his or her child’s bus. Synovia Solutions will provide installation of the system as well as ongoing maintenance/ technical assistance.

  Keeping the previous GPS system in the transportation budget would have cost $95,828 for the upcoming year, Malcom said. Funds for the new system will come from the transportation department’s general fund budget.

  Installation of the system is set to start as soon as possible upon board approval, and it should be completed by September 1.

  Malcom acknowledged that the system currently in place has not been updated in eight years.

  Another step to ease parents’ minds with regard to school buses, not to mention the bus drivers, is the $662,792.26 purchase of a new camera system for the fleet. This is being funded by the district’s current SPLOST initiative.

  Malcom reported that the current system provides for one camera on each special education bus, two cameras on each 72-passenger bus and three cameras on each 90-passenger bus. The updated system will have five cameras on all special education and 72-passenger buses, and six cameras on 90-passenger buses.   Installation will start as soon as possible with a target completion date of August 2, which is just before the first day of classes in the new school year.