Transportation director reports fleet upgrades, staffing pressures and early EV inquiries

Jen, the Wenatchee School District director of transportation, told the school board the transportation department has modernized parts of its fleet, expanded safety features and maintained daily service while confronting staffing and procurement challenges.

Why it matters: Transportation affects daily access to school for thousands of students and supports extracurricular and summer programs; fleet condition and driver availability influence safety, reliability and district costs.

Jen described several fleet upgrades: 23 Type D buses (40-foot, rear-engine diesel) are in service, with two more on order for September; many Type D buses now have air conditioning and illuminated front/back school-bus signs for greater visibility on hill routes and night travel. “Air conditioning…has been a huge hit,” Jen said, citing student and driver comfort during hot summers and on long trips.

She said the district runs a mixed fleet that also includes Type C and smaller Type A buses, special‑needs buses outfitted for wheelchairs, and a motor‑pool of six vehicles used by coaches and staff. Current staffing numbers Jen gave included 31 contracted drivers (with 3.5 floaters to backfill trips), about seven substitute drivers (with an operational effective number nearer 3.5), two contracted bus monitors, three mechanics and a small office staff including a dispatcher and office coordinator.

On workload, Jen said the department drove roughly 343,000 miles transporting students during the school year, plus about 44,000 miles for athletics and 27,000 for field trips. Summer programs added several thousand miles and hundreds of summer trips.

Retention and training are ongoing cost pressures. Jen said it costs roughly $7,000 to train a new bus driver and described efforts to reduce churn and improve retention, including a floating‑driver model that backfills routes when drivers take field trips.

On electric buses: Jen said the district has opened dialogue with the local public utility and attended recent seminars to start a feasibility review. She cautioned that industry experience is mixed: purpose-built electric buses perform differently from diesel buses retrofitted to electric power, and charging and maintenance infrastructure present hurdles. “It’s something we’re looking into,” she said, adding that mechanics and technicians have raised practical questions and that federal funding availability has fluctuated.

Board members praised the department’s improved culture and connection with students; one member noted drivers’ visibility at athletic events and relationships with students. Jen invited board members to ride routes, attend a “Drive the Bus” event or serve a shift to see operations firsthand.

Ending: The board thanked Jen and moved on to the nutrition services presentation.