Education
Transportation
BY MARK FADDEN & JONATHAN PERRIELLO
BY COLBY FARR
DCTA extends $11.35M contract for GoZone rideshare service
LISD sta presents updates on 2023, 2024 bond projects Lewisville ISD sta updated trustees on multiple projects from the 2023 and 2024 bond packages at an Oct. 7 workshop. LISD sta presented updates on completed furniture refreshes, technology updates and other rst-sale projects, as well as outlined ongoing work and projects slated for 2025 from both bond packages. The details LISD sta have completed furniture refreshes at eight elementary and eight middle schools, Randy Fite, LISD executive director of construction, said at the workshop. The project was part of the 2023 bond package. District o cials are working to secure pur- chase orders for furniture at Hebron and Lewisville high schools by the end of the year.
NISD receives highest nancial rating Jonathan Pastusek, chief nancial o cer for Northwest ISD, delivered the news that the district received a superior rating to board members during their regular meet- ing Oct. 7. A superior rating is the highest possible achievement the state of Texas can bestow on a district’s nancial management and reporting system. The backstory Pastusek said the rating is accomplished through the Financial Integrity Rating System of Texas, which was created in 1999 to ensure nancial accountability and transparency within school districts. According to district documents, the primary goal of FIRST is to achieve quality performance in the management of school districts’ nancial resources.
The Denton County Transportation Author- ity’s GoZone on-demand service will continue through 2025 after the board of directors took action Sept. 26. The overview Board members approved an $11.35 million con- tract extension with Via, a microtransit provider, to continue operating GoZone through Sept. 30, 2025. It’s the last one-year extension available under the DCTA’s contract with Via, which was awarded in 2021. DCTA o cials intend to solicit new contract bids in 2025 for continuing the GoZone service in the next scal year, according to a board of directors memo. Breaking down the contract The extension costs about $11.35 million, according to the memo. Operational costs make up most of that gure at an estimated $10.76 million.
The contract assumes 250,496 hours of van service is needed at an estimated cost of about $42.95 per hour. Similar to last year’s extension, the customer service portion of the contract will be split into two six-month periods. Each period will cost $293,550 for a total of $587,100. When o cials rst split the customer service portion last year, they cited a need to evaluate and make changes to its customer service o erings as needed throughout the year. The contract is already budgeted in the scal year 2024-25 budget passed by the board in August. By the numbers DCTA’s cumulative ridership on all modes reached 2.89 million through August, according to data from the meeting agenda. Ridership on the GoZone and UNT shuttle modes make up more than a third of the total ridership.
DCTA ridership GoZone and UNT shuttle routes make up most of the Denton County Transportation Authority’s ridership in scal year 2023-24.
Renovations to athletic facilities district-wide are scheduled to begin construction in 2025.
Other services: 25,150
COURTESY LEWISVILLE ISD
Connect bus routes: 194,394
Additionally, playground and shade structures renovations were completed at seven elementary schools, Fite said. More details No projects have been completed yet from the 2024 bond that passed in May related to athletic facility improvements, but several are moving forward in the design phase, Fite said. Trustees approved architects for athletic facility projects in June as part of the 2024 bond.
Vanpool: 232,3121
A-Train: 236,175
GoZone: 796,882
UNT shuttle: 1,410,800
SOURCE: DENTON COUNTY TRANSPORTATION AUTHORITY COMMUNITY IMPACT
LEWISVILLE 2416 S Stemmons Fwy (214) 488-0888
WESTLAKE 2341 Highway 377 (817) 490-9072
DENTON 2315 Colorado Blvd (940) 243-2929
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