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District 41 votes to terminate Safeway and contract First Student on emergency basis
Summary
Following reported service and financial failures by Safeway Transportation, the board approved terminating Safeway effective Dec. 19 and authorized a five‑year emergency contract with First Student to start routes Jan. 5; administration estimated a roughly $1.2 million increase for the rest of the year and said state reimbursement will partially offset costs.
Facing persistent on‑time performance and financial transparency problems with its transportation contractor, the Glen Ellyn School District 41 board approved an administrative plan to end the district’s relationship with Safeway Transportation and engage First Student as an emergency replacement.
Administration told the board Safeway had repeatedly missed deadlines for financial information and said the company had signaled it could not continue under the existing contract without a substantial price increase or other remedies. After exploring alternatives, staff recommended terminating Safeway effective Dec. 19 — the last day before winter break — to avoid service disruption in December and to enable First Student to run existing routes when classes resume Jan. 5.
Administrators said First Student would initially operate the district’s current routes to minimize immediate disruption and then make adjustments as needed. They estimated the district’s transportation costs for the remainder of the school year would increase by approximately $1.2 million; they also said state transportation reimbursement would rise as a percentage of expenditures but would not fully offset the higher cost.
Because the change is a mid‑year emergency procurement, the administration presented a five‑year agreement with First Student that can be terminated after 2.5 years. Staff explained Illinois school code permits emergency contracting without a formal bid if a supermajority of the board approves; the board voted to approve both the termination agreement with Safeway and the emergency contract with First Student.
The motions passed during the meeting. The record shows board members answering in the affirmative during roll call on the motion; the transcript does not list a complete roll‑call tally of every member for publication so the article reports the outcome as approved by the board. Administration also said the district will pay Safeway a higher rate for December operations to maintain service during the transition period, and that District 87 (a neighboring high‑school district) is also reviewing provider arrangements and may be affected by the change.
Board members acknowledged the change would increase costs but said securing reliable, timely transportation for students was the priority. No competitive bidding process was used because the administration said that process would risk extended service interruptions.
