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Board weighs complex options for school bus contracts: insurance, compensation and parent‑responsibility zones
Summary
Board members, transportation staff and contractors debated a proposed bus contract that would shift insurance responsibility to contractors with a $4,000 per‑bus stipend, consider a $10,000 first‑year increase in contractor pay and examine parent‑responsibility zone scenarios that could reduce routes and costs.
Rutherford County Board members, district transportation staff and representatives of contracted bus operators spent extensive meeting time discussing a proposed multi‑year bus contract that addresses three linked issues: bus insurance, contractor compensation and possible parent‑responsibility zones (PRZs) that would reduce the number of contracted routes.
Transportation director (Mr.) Lee presented modeling of PRZ options and route counts: a half‑mile PRZ would remove roughly 3 routes (without Title I exceptions) at an estimated recurring cost reduction of roughly $210,000 (4 buses, $280,000 if Title I schools were included). A one‑mile PRZ for all grades was estimated to remove about 15 routes with an annual savings near $1.05 million; a mixed 1.0‑mile (K–5) / 1.5‑mile (6–12) policy would eliminate about 33 routes for a projected $2.31 million in savings (44 routes and $3.08 million if Title I routes were included). Lee cautioned the figures would be finalized…
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