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Board approves First Student contract amendment to expand services, add on-site technicians and reduce fleet lease
Summary
The board approved an amendment to the district’s transportation services agreement with First Student aimed at reducing leased buses, increasing on-site technical support and improving routing and conduct reporting capabilities.
Director of Finance/Operations Sherry Roussick presented an amendment to the district’s transportation agreement with First Student, Inc., and the board approved the change.
Roussick said the amendment reflects negotiations after First Student won the district’s five-year transportation bid in March. Key changes include: guaranteeing 169 student days, increasing driver guaranteed hours from four to six, differentiating special-education route accounting, reducing the number of leased buses from 51 to an anticipated 40 (a reduction of 11 buses), decreasing anticipated special-education routes from 17 to 10, and providing six buses dedicated to activities to reduce charter costs.
She said the district will move from a half-time tech and an on-call mechanic to two full-time technicians on site and a shared mechanic with the neighboring Ankeny district, which should lower maintenance-related expenses and decrease off-district mechanic travel time. The district also will continue ramping up VersaTrans routing software, which will eventually be available to parents and includes bus-location and student-conduct reporting to principals.
Board members thanked staff for cost-saving work and noted the parent and activity benefits of the changes. The amendment to the First Student agreement was moved and approved (vote recorded as unanimous in the meeting).
