Board approves five-year contract for outlier student transportation

The Johnston County Board of Education on June 10 approved a multi-year contract for contract transportation services to provide van-based transport for “outlier” students — including those with long ride times, students in transition (McKinney-Vento), medically fragile students and some out-of-district placements.

Transportation staff reported the district currently uses three contract vendors and seven district-owned vans to serve these students and that the vendors are used when a regular school bus is impractical because only a few students would require a route. The district recommended moving to a single vendor contract for efficiency and cost control; staff said similar vendors serve neighboring counties.

Board members asked whether purchasing additional district vans and hiring drivers would be cheaper in the long run and whether the district is locked into the vendor for the five-year term. Staff said district-owned vans already accrue high mileage (district vans posted 20,000–33,000 miles in the prior year) and that the contract is a per-day per-vehicle rate; the district would not be charged on days it did not use the contracted vehicle. Staff said capital purchases could be an option if funding becomes available, but that the single-vendor contract yields more favorable per-day rates than the prior mix of vendors.

A motion to approve the transportation contract passed; the board directed staff to monitor mileage and cost metrics and to consider whether future capital funding could support district-owned vans.