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St. Francis transportation supervisor credits driver after bus fire; district outlines fleet maintenance and video-camera upgrades
Summary
The district’s transportation supervisor briefed the board on fleet staffing, maintenance issues and a recent bus fire; staff credited driver Rick for quick evacuation, described parts shortages and engines rebuilt, and said new live-view camera systems will start rolling out in January.
The St. Francis Area Schools transportation supervisor (Peggy) told the board that the 2025–26 school year has operated with full routes and two extra drivers on hand, and that the district has 53 licensed school-bus drivers and 72 vehicles in the fleet. She described maintenance pressures from older vehicles and difficulty sourcing parts, noting the district has rebuilt four engines and installed two-and-a-half to date.
Peggy reviewed an Oct. 3 incident in which Bus 17, a 2024 International propane-powered 77-passenger bus with roughly 28,167 miles, caught fire. She said the driver, Rick, evacuated the students in under 40 seconds and the bus’s propane safety system shut off fuel flow after a hose was severed. "Our driver, Rick, did exactly the right thing when he evacuated the students out the front of the bus," she said, and the district praised neighborhood residents for assisting parents and students at the scene.
Safety and operations: Peggy said the district never had to cancel routes or operate excessively late during the first five weeks despite sickness among drivers, and that mechanics and office staff routinely drove routes in emergencies. The district signed a three-year fuel contract and ordered five new buses that are expected to start arriving in January with additional units later in the summer.
Technology update: The district will begin installing a new live-view camera system in new buses beginning in January, with cloud storage and real-time viewing capability intended to reduce time spent retrieving and reviewing footage.
Procedural note: Peggy said Navistar and the dealer Fulton Transportation conducted an on-site investigation and that NHTSA handles recalls; an investigator named Kurt offered a theory on the cause but said some aspects may remain uncertain. The board asked about late-start schedules and operational impacts; staff said routing and cross-district runs complicate late-start days.
Next steps: District staff will continue to monitor the investigation, replace aging fleet components and install the new camera system beginning in January.
