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Committee approves summer bus leases for LSU AgCenter 4‑H and Bayou Land YMCA; members discuss standard lease template
Summary
The Buildings, Food Service & Transportation Committee recommended board approval of two short-term bus lease agreements to support LSU AgCenter 4‑H and Bayou Land YMCA summer programs and discussed creating a standard lease to streamline recurring requests.
The Buildings, Food Service & Transportation Committee of the Terrebonne Parish School Board voted to recommend entering two short-term bus lease agreements to provide transportation for LSU Agricultural Center 4‑H and the Bayou Land YMCA summer camp programs.
The committee recommended approval of a lease with the Louisiana State University Agricultural Center to provide buses from June 17–20, 2025, and a separate lease with Bayou Land YMCA for June 13–July 25, 2025. Both agreements specify that buses will operate during normal weekday hours as needed, that mileage reimbursement will equal 50% of the cost of one gallon of fuel at the time of travel with a minimum rate of $2.50 per mile, and that bus drivers must be approved and paid by the Terrebonne Parish School Board. Each agreement was to be executed provided all necessary insurance requirements are met and the board president be authorized to sign related documents.
The items were brought forward as routine, recurring arrangements. "We did not use the bus last year because our bus driver that usually volunteers with us was in the hospital ... he's gonna do it again this year, and so we would appreciate this," a Bayou Land YMCA speaker said during public comment. The speaker added praise for district drivers' patience: "you guys have some really good drivers with a lot of patience." The committee took the public comment under advisement before approving the recommendation.
Committee members also discussed whether the board should continue approving individual short-term leases each year or adopt a standard lease template for recurring community partners. Committee member Ford proposed a standard agreement that would set uniform terms (including mileage, driver pay and insurance) and allow transportation staff to approve individual uses under that template without returning to the board for every renewal. Ford described the approach as a way to reduce administrative redundancy, while other members raised practical questions about prioritization if demand exceeded available buses and about aligning dates and parameters across varied partners.
Committee chair Madamn Bering asked staff to check with attorneys and report back; members agreed to "look into it." No formal motion to adopt a blanket policy was made at the meeting.
The committee recorded the motions to recommend both leases to the full board (movers and seconders noted during the meeting) and indicated no objections when asked, with the chair saying the recommendations were "ordered." The committee's action was a recommendation to the full board; the transcript does not show a final board-level vote on the agreements.
The committee’s discussion balanced routine community transportation support with concerns about administrative efficiency and operational prioritization during peak summer demand.
