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School board approves assignment of transportation contract to Go Rightway for $1.83 million
Summary
The Burlington Area School District board voted July 13 to assign its transportation contract to Go Rightway Transportation Group at a one-year contracted price of $1,831,455, citing continuity for drivers and higher insurer limits; the board approved the motion at the meeting.
The Burlington Area School District school board voted July 13 to assign the district's transportation contract to Go Rightway Transportation Group at a contracted price of $1,831,455 for the 2026'27 school year.
The move follows an acquisition of long-time provider Thomas Bus Service by Go Rightway. Nate Hamilton, chief operating officer for Go Rightway, introduced the company as a Wisconsin-based, family-owned operator and said the firm is working with current drivers and Thomas Bus staff to maintain continuity while onboarding routing software and communications tools for families.
The board discussed contract parity with the previous agreement and noted one material difference: Go Rightway offers a higher liability policy. "Our company's insurance is $5,000,000," a company representative said, noting the contract still met statutory minimums in place previously. District staff told the board the new contract is otherwise identical to the Thomas Bus terms, including fuel-cost language and the four-year nonrolling term with a final-year RFP provision.
Board members asked about route continuity and driver retention; Go Rightway said it had held onboarding meetings and reported strong acceptance among drivers invited to join the new operator. The company provided a district contact email (burlington@gorightway.com) and said phone numbers for the bus garage will remain the same.
Chair called for the motion and the board voted to approve the contract assignment. The chair announced the motion carried. The board will proceed with the contract as approved and will revisit procurement through the ordinary RFP process in the contract's final year.
Actions and next steps include contract execution with Go Rightway and district oversight during transition, including driver onboarding and routing checks at the start of the school year.
