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Board hears transportation update: allocation uncertainty, roster cleanup and contractor performance concerns
Summary
District transportation staff reported a recently released NMPED allocation, lower enrollment affecting allocation, roster cleanups to align special education students with appropriate buses, contractor driver shortages covered by contractors and plans for contractor performance evaluation.
District transportation staff updated the board on funding, ridership and operations. Staff said the New Mexico Public Education Department had released a transportation allocation on June 10 but the district's final amount and timing remain subject to statewide reporting reconciliation. Staff reported an enrollment decrease from roughly 2,645 to about 2,540 students (down approximately 102), which affects allocation calculations.
The district operates about 49 bus routes, including 16 special‑nutrition routes and 12 regular routes, and staff described a roster cleanup that better aligned special education riders with special‑education buses. Prior practice allowed siblings to ride together in some instances; the district said it is clarifying eligibility and using transportation exception request forms to document hardship rides.
Staff said contractor drivers filled gaps when district or contractor staffing was limited and suggested establishing contractor performance evaluations (driver quality, student supervision, communications) to inform contract negotiations. Board members asked for cost and driver‑count details for contract negotiations; staff said they will compile per‑bus costs, driver counts and performance metrics to support future decisions.
There was no policy action approving new contracts at the meeting; staff asked the board to consider contractor evaluation criteria before future negotiations.
