Scottsdale Unified approves new contracted student-transportation vendor, extends existing service during transition

Scottsdale Unified School District’s Governing Board voted 5-0 Tuesday to authorize two contract actions intended to stabilize and expand contracted student transportation: (1) use of the SAFE GPPCS cooperative contract to engage First Alt (the alternative-transportation division of First Student) for specialized routes, and (2) a short-term extension of the district’s existing HopSkipDrive contract under the Mohave Educational Services Arizona Cooperative to preserve service while the new provider onboards.

The votes follow months of operational disruption described during public comment and staff briefings and come after staff told the board they expect to begin transferring trips to the new vendor in January with full setup by the end of January or early February.

District officials said the contracts are intended to add capacity for specialized trips (including special-education, McKinney‑Vento and other individualized transports), to standardize background checks and training across drivers, and to provide more predictable daily assignments for families and schools. Staff estimated the remaining district cost through the remainder of the fiscal year at about $300,000 if the First Alt contract is used for a portion of service this year.

Greg Prettyman, vice president of First Alt/First Student, told the board the company will apply the same driver vetting, training and drug-and-alcohol monitoring used for First Student school bus drivers to all alternate-vehicle drivers. “Every vehicle will have a camera, and so that will be nonnegotiable,” Prettyman said. He also described assigning the same driver and vehicle to a…