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South Bend schools report staffing, routing gains as late-or-no-bus incidents fall
Summary
CFO Anav Tamid and Transportation Director Robert Durham told the school board on July 13 that driver staffing has risen, route consolidation and incentives have cut outsourced costs, and monthly late-or-no-bus incidents fell from an average of 130 to 65 with a target under 30 next year.
At a July 13 meeting of the South Bend Community School Corp board of trustees, Chief Financial Officer Anav Tamid and Director of Transportation Robert Durham outlined a multi-pronged plan they said has reduced the district's late-or-no-bus incidents and stabilized driver staffing ahead of the new school year.
"We had 104 bus drivers when we began our operation. Now we have 115, and at least 10 are in the pipeline," Tamid said, adding that the district expects to be "very close to 125" drivers when school starts. Durham said the district purchased new routing software and will run both systems through the fall before switching fully in October.
The presentation credited a combination of measures: a newly ratified driver contract with retroactive pay, a performance/attendance stipend ($150 for perfect attendance in a pay period), referral bonuses (up to $500 per hire, with a maximum cited of $2,500 per referrer annually), driver mentors, and an expanded hiring effort including "hop on and hire" classes for CDL training.
Tamid presented data showing the average monthly late-or-no-bus incidents fell from 130 in 2024–25 to 65 in 2025–26, with a goal to reduce that average below 30 in 2026–27. He said route consolidation eliminated roughly 13–15 inefficient routes and produced an estimated conservative savings of more than $200,000. The transportation team also reported adding 14 new buses this year and decommissioning 15 older vehicles to lower average fleet age.
Durham acknowledged a recent uptick in accidents and said the district has instituted post-accident training and a standing accident committee to review preventable incidents. "When we have spare drivers on occasion, there's not dialers going out," Durham said, describing spare drivers as a buffer that reduces late runs.
Board members asked about how route changes will affect families when the new routing software is implemented. Durham said the routers are already duplicating current stops in the new system and will try to avoid wholesale rebids or large-scale parent notifications by keeping maps and boundaries consistent.
The presentation also included budget context. Tamid said transportation spending was about $18 million in 2023 and nearly $19 million in 2024, dropping to roughly $13.5 million in 2025 after reduced contracted services and bus purchases in earlier years. He attributed some savings to taking previously outsourced services in-house and negotiating fuel and insurance contracts.
The board did not take formal action on transportation during the meeting. Officials said parents should expect continued updates and were invited to hold the administration to the numerical targets the presenters shared.
