Transportation department outlines driver shortages, route costs and limits for special‑education rides
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Summary
Transportation staff told the board routes vary widely in cost per student and the department faces driver and aide shortages; special‑education transport is often door‑to‑door and legally required to use school buses, limiting consolidation flexibility.
The transportation director presented a detailed operational review, telling trustees that per‑student route costs differ markedly by distance and duty time and that shortages of both drivers and bus aides constrain consolidation options.
Director Blair (presenter) said average operating costs vary by route: a long TRE route example was about $3.73 per student per trip while a local high‑mileage general‑education example ran about $3.14 per student; an average across many routes was cited near $1.79 per student. Blair also explained that some inclusive‑education routes (door‑to‑door special‑education routes) can cost roughly $65,000 per route when driver + aide staffing are included because of the extra staff time and mileage involved.
Blair said the district maintains roughly 64 buses but typically uses about 39 daily; the active fleet must cover routes, field trips and act as spare units for breakdowns. The department has consolidated routes where possible to reduce costs, and a previous consolidation effort saved an estimated ~$296,000. But Blair warned that driver shortages and the specific service requirements for special‑education travel (including limited student tolerance for long rides and individualized IEP‑driven transport) make further consolidation difficult without losing program functionality.
In Q&A trustees asked for route‑level data, counts of students per route (without names), maps of routing options, and an estimate of the fiscal impacts if stop radii or school boundaries were adjusted. Trustees also asked how consolidation of schools would affect transportation costs; the transportation director said consolidation could increase mileage and required buses in some scenarios and that each consolidation must be modeled carefully.
Drivers and fleet staff who spoke during public comment said field trips are important for extra pay and experience, urged caution about cutting them, and asked the board to consider driver overtime and retention when planning changes.
Next steps: transportation committed to provide route‑level cost and ridership data, maps, and scenarios showing the effect on bus counts and operating cost under different consolidation or boundary options.