School board approves new transportation policy language, sets temporary cap on contractor routes

The Rutherford County Board of Education approved revised language for its student transportation policy after an extended committee discussion about insurance, contractor qualifications and how many routes a single contractor may hold. The policy changes establish that contractors must carry their own insurance and provide proof of access to a bus or adequate funding; the board amended the draft to limit contractors to no more than 10 contracts unless the board approves exceptions when unfilled routes exist, and it grandfathered existing contract counts for the coming school year.

The board said the revisions are meant to align district policy with a recently negotiated bus contract and state requirements while preventing route consolidation that could threaten smaller, community-based operators. The committee debated several details including how the district will verify contractors’ ability to obtain or lease a bus, how to treat owners who sublease routes, and what to do if a contractor accepted a route but later cannot finance the vehicle.

Board discussion focused on two core changes: shifting bus-insurance responsibility to contractors and adding procurement and financial-proof language so the district can reasonably confirm a prospective contractor can provide assigned services. Board attorney Jeff Reed told the committee that the insurance language is taken verbatim from the new contract; the policy could instead reference the contract for insurance terms, but the committee kept the contract-level insurance text in policy so it will be explicit for administrators and contractors.

Transportation…