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Board debates ending $106K ESSER stipend to bus contractor; administrators say no student routes will be cut
Summary
Administration proposed removing a roughly $106,000 ESSER‑era stipend paid to the district’s contracted bus provider (SBI) that temporarily supplemented driver pay; administrators said tripper/pusher route changes would not eliminate student transportation to school but would reduce supplemental routes for high‑school students.
The board discussed proposed transportation reductions that include ending a roughly $106,000 ESSER‑era stipend the district provided to its contracted bus service (SBI) to temporarily increase driver pay during a recruitment shortage.
Administrators explained that the ESSER stipend was a temporary “goodwill” payment to help SBI raise driver wages and attract drivers during the pandemic and immediate post‑pandemic period. “That originally was a temporary gift…when we gave it to them, it was under the understanding that it was a temporary gift,” an administrator said. Administrators said that the stipend increased driver pay by approximately $2 per hour when it was in place, and that the district is proposing to remove the stipend as part of the recommended reductions.
Board members and administrators also discussed “tripper” and “pusher” buses — supplemental high‑school routes that pick up additional students downtown or in neighborhoods. Administrators said tripper/pusher routes are separate from the SBI stipend: tripper/pusher routes are operational routes controlled by district routing decisions, while the $106,000 payment was an additional stipend to help the contractor recruit and retain drivers.
Administration proposed reducing some tripper/pusher allocations (for example, moving three neighborhood tripper routes down to two at certain high schools and eliminating one pusher bus used to collect high‑school riders downtown), but stressed that core route coverage for students would continue and that the district would leave some funding available for buses in emergency situations (severe weather, other contingencies). “There will be no students that do not have transportation to school,” an administrator said in response to board concerns.
Board members asked administration to present a clearer, separated line‑item breakdown of the transportation changes at the next meeting so the board can consider phased options for the stipend (for example, a multi‑year step‑down) versus an immediate removal. Administration agreed to break the transportation lines out for the next session so the board could evaluate schedule impacts and vendor adjustments.
