Danville board awards five-year student-transportation contract to First Student amid driver-shortage concerns

The Danville Community Consolidated School District 118 Board of Education voted to award the district’s student transportation contract for the 2025–26 through 2029–30 school years to incumbent contractor First Student, approving the recommendation by the district’s business office. The contract award passed with four votes in favor, one no and one abstention.

The board’s business director, Rankin, told trustees that the district received three bids and that two—Yellow Bus Group and Robinson Transport—were rejected because the submissions lacked required operational and financial documentation. Rankin said First Student submitted a complete bid and demonstrated capacity and a safety record, and recommended awarding the contract despite an 11.29% increase in the first year ($694,640.95); the district’s proposed percentage increases for years two through five are 7%, 4%, 4% and 4% respectively.

Why it matters: student transportation is a large operating contract that affects daily schedules for roughly 63 routes the district runs and is tied to state reimbursement that has varied year to year. The district’s reimbursement rate has averaged 72% over five years and is projected to be about 66% for fiscal 2025, increasing the district’s net cost exposure for higher contract amounts.

Board members and vendors discussed how national driver shortages and route logistics affect the start of school and day-to-day service. Chris Coyle, speaking for First Student during public comment, noted First Student’s experience in neighboring districts and argued that incumbency and company footprint help ensure startup and backup capacity. Jason Callaway, First Student’s Danville location manager, said the company has focused on restoring morale and on-time performance and emphasized safety: “Get them to school safely. I will take the hit for being late.”

Administration told the board the contract price presented does not include diesel fuel; the district buys fuel separately. The board also heard operational metrics from First Student and District staff indicating on-time performance in recent months at about 93% by the district’s measurement, and trustees said the remaining disruptions appear concentrated in recurring problem routes and staffing shortfalls.

Board members pressed for guardrails: higher-quality bus cameras; improved routing; clearer expectations for driver wait times at stops; and regular operational reporting back to the board. Rankin and district staff said the administration will provide more granular operational data and an action plan to address recurring tardiness and route issues.

The board approved the award and instructed administration to finalize contract documents; trustees also discussed monitoring implementation and reporting back regularly on on-time performance and safety measures.

Next steps: administration will finalize contract paperwork with First Student and return with implementation metrics and recommended operational tracking. The contract term and the exclusion of diesel fuel from the contract were noted by staff during the discussion.