Board approves $45,400 consultant to reexamine bus routing and reduce student wait times

The Board approved a $45,400 contract with a transportation consultant to analyze the district's school‑bus routing and identify efficiencies, including combining low‑ridership routes and better using existing drivers.

Administrators said the district, which increasingly coordinates routes with other nearby districts, has several low‑ridership trips and long student wait times of 30–40 minutes in places. "We found McHenry Schools... were able to basically free up 10 drivers to be essentially sub drivers for them," an administrator said as staff described intent to find similar efficiencies. The work would include route counts, logistics, and recommendations tailored to school‑transportation operations.

Tim Barrett, identified in the meeting as the district transportation director, was present and recommended the contract. The motion to approve the consultant passed on a roll call vote. Board members who voted yes in recorded roll call included: Mr. Shepherd, Mr. Spivey, Mr. Juskiewicz, Mr. Hoyt, Mrs. Horatchko and Mr. Grzadich (roll call recorded at the meeting).

Why it matters: Bus routing affects student safety, parent satisfaction, staff deployment and transportation costs. The district framed the consultant work as an operational effort to reduce student wait times and improve cost‑effectiveness when leased buses are returned to vendors.

Next steps: The consultant will analyze routes and propose changes; staff said findings will be used to adjust routes and staffing for the next school year. The district did not provide a public timeline for the consultant's final report during the meeting.