Committee advances transportation budget amid driver shortage and rising costs

John, who leads facilities and transportation oversight, told the committee the district continues to struggle with bus driver shortages and increasing operating costs.

"I am currently down 3 full time positions, and we do frequently have to rely on a private service to come in and do work for us," John said, describing a week with multiple cancellations and noting a private contracted provider has been unable to fill gaps.

John explained some special-education transportation requires out-of-district providers and can become "very costly," citing use of private ambulance services for trips to locations such as Brunswick. He also described technology and subscription increases: the district uses routing tablets for accountability and plans to include tablets in vans next year, which raises annual subscription costs.

On safety, John said the state is funding some new equipment mandates but warned of other cost pressures. "There's a new bill introduced that will increase [driver] training from 16 hours to 40 hours," he said, noting he did not build that cost into the current budget because the bill remains under debate.

The committee moved and approved Article 9 (transportation) as presented. John also explained that new bus purchases will increase lease-purchase costs and that state reimbursements cover only a percentage of bus costs, plus interest.

The committee agreed to accept Article 9 and will continue to monitor driver staffing, contracted service rates and state-level mandates that could affect future budgets.