Moorhead Area Public Schools outlines plan to cut contractor routes, convert others to in‑house service to save operating costs

At the April 28 board meeting, Moorhead Area Public Schools received a transportation briefing showing the district expects to finish the fiscal year below budget and laid out a plan to reduce contractor routes and convert some contractor runs to in‑house routes for ongoing savings.

Steve (transportation staff) told the board the district’s original goal was to cut $1.5 million from transportation; the three objectives originally briefed produced about $1,290,000 in estimated savings. He said the district is "still tracking overall to come in about $860,000 under budget." That projection factors in a contracted 3% rate increase and salary adjustments, which Steve estimated would add roughly $225,000 to next year’s costs.

The plan presented would reduce the number of contractor routes by two (rather than five under an earlier draft) and convert several contractor routes to in‑house service. The conversion savings were estimated at about $70,000 per route; converting the Fergus Falls transfer for two level‑4 students to district service was projected to save roughly $100,000. Under the revised plan, Horizon-area impacts would shrink from an average ridership impact of about 170 students to about 88; high‑school impacts would drop to an average ridership effect of about 47 students. Steve cautioned these are current route numbers and could change when the district finalizes routes in July.

Board members asked for demographic and route‑specific detail. A board member noted low‑income housing exists in some affected zones and asked whether the reduction would disproportionately affect lower‑income families; Steve said income data for specific zones was not on the slide but is available in earlier materials and can be provided on request. Board members also asked about driver retention and vehicle capacity; Steve said the district has buses available to support the conversions but the plan depends on retaining and training drivers.

The administration said it will send an initial notification to families in the potential impact zones explaining the plan is preliminary and that final route decisions will be made in July, with a follow‑up status check three weeks into the school year (around Sept. 25) to determine whether additional routes can be added back based on actual ridership.

Board members expressed differing views about whether transportation should absorb a large share of district reductions. One board member said the district survey results showed voters prioritized preserving extracurriculars over transportation cuts and urged the administration to pursue reductions across other budget areas as well; the speaker’s comments were not tied to a formal board direction.

The administration emphasized the work is ongoing and described this meeting as a briefing and communication step rather than a final decision point. The district plans targeted family communications in July and will revisit route needs in September after real ridership patterns emerge.