Haywood board approves EverDriven contract to provide midday student transportation

The Haywood County Schools Board of Education approved a memorandum with EverDriven Technologies to provide midday transportation for students on modified schedules.

School staff said the district has struggled to find bus drivers for midday routes and that EverDriven offers vans or smaller vehicles and staff as an alternative. A district staff member explained the company’s pricing is scaled: it “depends on if there needs to be another adult in the car, if there’s one or two adults, if there’s a camera or no camera, and the amount of miles,” and that mileage factors into cost.

Board members unanimously approved the agreement after brief discussion. The motion on the floor was moved by Mr. Rogers; the second was recorded and the board voted to approve the contract without recorded dissent.

The contract details used for budgeting — including per-trip or per-mile rates and estimated annual cost — were not provided at the meeting and were described as dependent on service options.

Board members said the arrangement is a practical response to driver shortages for midday routes and will be used when a bus driver is unavailable or when a student’s schedule requires a nonstandard trip during the school day.