Board approves new vehicles, adds 2.37 driver FTEs and adopts 2026–27 routes for OPI submission

The school district board of trustees voted unanimously to buy one 48-passenger special-education school bus and four Expedition-style Class E vehicles, approve an additional 2.37 full-time-equivalent (FTE) driver positions and adopt the 2026–27 transportation routes for submission to the Montana Office of Public Instruction. Chair Jen led the motions; Rebecca moved and Tom seconded the vehicle purchase, and subsequent motions to add FTEs and adopt routes also passed unanimously by voice/hand vote.

The measures respond to route changes that the district must file with county and state officials before an upcoming OPI meeting. Administrator Jeff told trustees the district reduced its original vehicle request from three large buses to one 48-passenger special-education bus plus four Expedition-style vans, a configuration he said is roughly $100,000 cheaper than the initial plan. "...that is about a $100,000 cheaper than what we originally gonna do," Jeff said during the presentation.

Why it matters: the revised plan bundles three linked needs — updated routes, the driver staffing to run them, and vehicles suited for special-education door-to-door service — and ensures the district can meet a filing deadline for state transportation reimbursement.

Transportation Director Laura described the routes and staffing implications. She said most general-education routes are contracted to four vendors (Treasure State, Harlow's, Z Bussing and Stevens Bussing) under multi-year agreements, while special-education routes are unique and change frequently because the district provides door-to-door service to qualifying students. "Our SPED routes ... they change on a daily basis," Laura said, noting the district is not yet using routing AI for SPED runs but is working to move general-education routes into Athena and hopes to extend that to SPED planning in the future.

Trustees pressed on ride times and possible inter-district coordination. Trustee Rich said he has seen rural routes that are often half full and asked whether the district could coordinate with neighboring districts to reduce duplicative runs. Laura and other trustees cautioned that consolidating routes can increase student ride time; staff and a prior director used Edulog/Athena for optimization but decisions balance efficiency against long rides for students.

On maintenance: trustees asked whether the district or contractors would maintain the purchased vehicles. Laura said contracted vendors maintain the buses they operate under contract; the district will be responsible for maintenance of vehicles it purchases and described a preventative-maintenance program with pretrip/post-trip driver checks and mechanic spot checks.

Votes at a glance: the board approved the vehicle purchase (motion moved by Rebecca, seconded by Tom), the addition of 2.37 driver FTEs (moved by Rebecca, seconded by Heidi) and the 2026–27 route package for OPI submission (moved by Linda, seconded by Heidi). Each motion passed by unanimous voice/hand vote; the transcript records the chair calling for show-of-hands votes and noting unanimous approval.

The board did not receive in-person public comment during the meeting. Staff noted the route packet will be submitted to county/OPI for state transportation reimbursement as planned. The trustees adjourned after scheduling a short executive session this week to consult legal counsel on a separate litigation matter.