Brockton transportation leaders report progress but warn of $4—to— million shortfall

Kamal Peterson, Brockton Public Schools' director of transportation, told the Security, Safety and Transportation Subcommittee on March 24 that the district currently provides specialized transportation for 1,664 students, with 1,352 trips handled in-house and 312 by private vendors.

"We transport 1,664 students," Peterson said as he walked members through a slide showing in-district and out-of-district placements and vendor counts.

The presentation highlighted a string of operational changes since July 2024: safety checks on buses, invoice audits, reduced reliance on private vendors where possible, route rebidding to gain efficiencies, pilot use of WEX fuel cards to speed fueling and obtain rebates, and a reorganization of the transportation office prompted by a transportation audit. Peterson and Assistant Director Andre Galen described a renewed focus on in-house fleet use and data-driven route planning.

Why it matters: transportation is one of the district's largest operational costs, especially for specialized and out-of-district placements that require door-to-door service or specialized equipment. Staff told the committee the district expects to present a detailed shortfall estimate to the City Council and request additional non-net school spending.

Budget and shortfall details

Presenter-level staff recapped recent appropriations: an original transportation appropriation of $9.9 million plus a $6.0 million city transfer resulted in $15.9 million from the city last year. Staff said the district's total transportation cost last year was $19.7 million and that this fiscal year the district received $17.0 million in non-net school spending. Given the continuing variables (including a newly ratified collective bargaining agreement), staff said they are still projecting the shortfall but currently estimate it at roughly $4—to— million.

"We will present all of the cost saving measures we put into place and also put in a request for the additional non-net school spending funds that we require," the presenter said.

Labor and overtime

Transportation staff described changes in driver pay codes and hours. They said the district recently negotiated a new collective bargaining agreement reported to have a union turnout of 71 to 21 and that the contract should reduce overtime encumbrances going forward. Peterson said the drivers were "ecstatic" about the result, adding that schedule adjustments and clearer assignment rules will limit overtime exposure.

Fleet, vendors and pilots

Staff recommended piloting greater use of smaller in-house vehicles (described as 11-passenger/"7D" vehicles) to reduce per-student vendor costs. Peterson showed examples where shifting students from vendor runs to in-house 7D trips could save hundreds of dollars a day per run. He said the district plans a limited rollout in July/August using vehicles already in inventory and would hire additional drivers where needed.

Procurement and software

The district is out to bid for transportation services, with an opening date staff identified as April 7. Officials said they are evaluating whether to lease or buy additional vehicles and whether a bidder might provide full or partial service; those outcomes will shape how much the district expands in-house capacity.

Staff also said the current routing software (VersaTrans) cannot handle out-of-district routing well. They recommended migrating to a cloud-based Tyler Technologies "student transportation" module that integrates with the district's Munis financial system, improves mapping and real-time GPS, and reduces duplicative manual work. Staff warned the migration is a substantial, multi-stage investment that will require running dual systems while the district transitions.

Accountability and safety

Transportation said it has increased audit activity for private vendors (on-site checks and surprise school audits that inspect seats, harnesses and cleanliness). The district reported that bus cameras (interior and exterior) are activated when buses are on; footage of motorists who ignore stop arms has been downloaded and sent to police for citation.

Next steps

Staff said they will finalize shortfall projections and prepare to present cost-saving measures and an additional funding request to the city council; the district will also review April bid results to make midyear operational decisions. Peterson said the 7D pilot is slated to begin in July/August if procurement and staffing permit.

The subcommittee did not take a formal vote on any transportation policy at the meeting; staff and committee members agreed to continue monitoring bid outcomes and shortfall projections before pursuing additional budgetary action.