CUMMING, Ga. — A school district here has approved a $1.6 million project to upgrade its school bus radio network, Forsyth County News reports.

In a meeting last week, the Forsyth County Schools board of education agreed to purchase new radio equipment in partnership with Forsyth County, according to the news source. The agreement includes a new radio tower and tower equipment, 450 school bus radios, and dispatch radio and computer equipment that will be compatible with Forsyth County’s radio equipment and infrastructure.

Mike Satterfield, the director of transportation for Forsyth County Schools, said at the board’s previous meeting on May 14 that the district’s current radio network is “aging” and that the new equipment “would result in an immediate, overall increase in transportation safety and reliability for Forsyth County Schools and its stakeholders.”

Satterfield added that the benefits of the new equipment will include: a strengthened communications network between the district and Forsyth County first responders, improved radio communications and responsiveness within the district’s transportation department, and increased transmission quality and network coverage.

Forsyth County Schools currently transports 29,000 students daily on its buses, according to Satterfield.

The transitioning of the radio network and installation of the new equipment is expected to be complete before the start of the 2019-20 school year on Aug. 1.