District staff recommend 3.5% contract increase for First Student bus service; late-arrival discounts added

District staff presented a proposed amendment to the transportation contract with First Student that would raise rates about 3.5% for the 2025–26 and 2026–27 school years and add penalties for late arrivals and missed runs. The proposal, presented as part of the district’s transportation update, details morning and evening route counts and projected per-route prices tied to the number of routes the district maintains.

The staff presentation said First Student currently provides 14 AM-to-PM routes at one campus (down from 19), two evening activity buses (scheduled about 5:30–6:30 p.m.), and other morning/evening routes across the district. The proposal document shown to the board included figures such as a $236.76 per-route price if the district has seven or more routes at a campus and $239.94 if it has seven or fewer routes for 2025–26; the presenter described similar per-route differentials for 2026–27. A staff presenter said PMSA (the district‑wide footprint) would pay about $383.06 for one activity bus for 2025–26 and that the vendor forecast was “roughly a 3.5% increase.”

The transportation presenter said First Student agreed to contract language that would apply a 50% discount if a bus is 15 minutes or more late to a stop and no payment if a bus does not show. The district presenter said First Student would add those contractual provisions and review them with district staff prior to finalization. “In my opinion, I think Proviso should absorb this 3.5% for 25–26, and also for 26–27,” the transportation presenter said when recommending the district cover the modest increase for the first two years.

Board members asked how late runs and no‑shows are tracked and how common they are. Staff said they do not currently maintain a comprehensive complaint log but agreed to improve tracking; the presenter said earlier in the year the district received 6–8 morning complaints on busy days and more recently about two calls each morning. Staff described field observations and stop audits by supervisors and anecdotally judged First Student’s performance as substantially improved in recent months.

Board members also raised route utilization and consolidation questions. Staff said consolidating routes to save costs could significantly lengthen individual student ride times (20–25 minutes per route can double if routes are combined) and that ridership varies seasonally; routes that are half‑full in mild weather may be fuller in cold weather. Staff recommended exploring an opt‑in/opt‑out enrollment process twice a year to better gauge demand and asked First Student to compile route utilization data to guide decisions.

No formal vote was recorded in the transcript segment presented; staff said the contract amendment and exhibit reflecting the 3.5% increases would be included in an agreement that the superintendent or designee would sign if the board moves forward.

The district’s transportation budget was referenced during Q&A: staff noted a general home‑to‑school transportation budget in the range of approximately $3.6 million to $4.0 million, which covers base service and additional runs.

Next steps described in the meeting included finalizing the amendment language with First Student (including the late‑arrival/no‑show terms), collecting route utilization data from the vendor, improving complaint logging, and bringing a finalized contract amendment to the board at a future meeting for approval.