Board approves $4,000 per-bus stipend, orders county RFP for contractor insurance and sets parent-responsibility zones

The Rutherford County School Board voted April 24 to provide a one-time $4,000 stipend for each contracted school bus, direct county risk-management to issue a request for proposals (RFP) to seek liability coverage for bus contractors, and adopt parent-responsibility zones that make families responsible for transportation within specified walking distances.

The board approved the stipend and related contract changes unanimously, then voted to ask the county insurance committee to issue an RFP to cover contractors. Board members also approved a contingency the board described as a mechanism to prorate and split any future savings if the county later secures insurance for contractors at a lower total cost: if county-provided coverage becomes available and is cheaper than the stipend approach, the stipend would end and the savings would be split 50/50 between the school system and the contractors.

Director of Schools Doctor Sullivan and board counsel Jeff Reid framed the choice as time-sensitive. Reid said the district’s current policy expires June 30 and, because the RFP process and insurance markets take weeks, “we don't have any other option but to go ahead and proceed with the alternative of us contractors obtaining their own insurance,” and the stipend is designed to offset that immediate new cost.

Board member Stan Vaught, who pushed for a prompt solution after weeks of meetings with contractors, said the stipend gives the district and operators a workable path while the county pursues an insurance solution: “If we move forward with the $4,000, that gives us something to roll with,” he said.

On the transportation funding side, the board separately directed the school system and county staff to ask the county insurance committee and county commission to run a targeted RFP for liability insurance for the current bus contractors for the 2025–26 contract year. The board voted unanimously to send that request. The motion’s supporters said the RFP could return a lower price in subsequent years and allow the district to restore county-provided coverage at a lower net cost.

The board also adopted a parent-responsibility zone (PRZ) for student transportation by majority vote. The PRZ requires families to provide transportation for kindergarten through fifth-grade students who live within 1 mile of school and for sixth through 12th grades within 1.5 miles, with a carve-out for parents or guardians who are disabled and unable to provide transport. The motion passed after roll-call votes that split the board along familiar lines; the final vote was recorded as yes from Vaught, Vaughn, Darby and Maxwell and no from Sharp, Tidwell and Rosales.

Board members and staff described the measures as a package aimed at preventing a service disruption when the district’s existing insurance arrangement ends June 30, while giving the county time to re-bid coverage in a way that could reduce long-term costs. Finance staff told the board the stipend line will require an appropriation in this year’s budget and will be coordinated with county finance for timing of payment. The board directed staff to arrange stipend payments “as soon as possible” after contract signature so contractors can purchase policies that will be effective July 1.

The discussion also included a provision for how the stipend interacts with any future county insurance solution: if a later RFP produces contractor coverage that costs less than the stipend program, contractors who take county coverage would be required to reimburse any unused, prorated portion of the stipend; the district and contractors would then split net savings 50/50 under a contract amendment to be returned to the board for approval.

Why it matters: Rutherford County relies on private contractor drivers to run dozens of routes. The board said the measures minimize the risk of service interruptions for the start of the next school year while preserving a path to recapture savings if county-based insurance becomes available again.

Ending: Board staff will produce contract amendments reflecting the stipend, savings-split language and the disability exception to the PRZ. The county’s risk-management office was directed to issue the RFP and report back to the board on responses and timing.