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Bozeman school board approves 1st Student contract addendum to raise driver pay
Summary
At its July 29 retreat the Bozeman School District board approved a contract addendum with contractor 1st Student to increase driver wages; trustees voted 7–0 after a presentation on staffing challenges and a preliminary tax‑impact estimate of about 1.13 mills.
At its July 29 retreat, the Bozeman School District board voted 7–0 to approve a contract addendum with contractor 1st Student that raises per‑route rates intended to fund higher bus‑driver wages.
District staff introduced action item 4.10.1 and called 1st Student representatives to the table. Mike Hamill, area general manager for 1st Student, said the company has struggled to recruit and retain local drivers in Bozeman, relied on costly out‑of‑town drivers last year and proposed converting a previously used $2,400 annual bonus into higher base wages. He told trustees the transportation fund’s estimated first‑year impact is $261,000, extracurriculars and field trips $8,000, for a combined near $270,000 next year, and a roughly $1.88 million increase over the remaining contract term.
Hamill said the company ‘‘went backwards by $1.3 million just because of out‑of‑town drivers,’’ and clarified that 1st Student is not seeking reimbursement for past losses. ‘‘Not one penny of this comes back to the company,’’ he said, adding the proposed increases are intended to get and keep local drivers.
Trustees pressed on recruitment sources and guarantees. One trustee asked where drivers would come from; Hamill described a strategy of recruiting ‘‘outside our industry,’’ pointing to retail and other local employers rather than drawing workers from nearby school districts. Trustees also questioned how the addendum would interact with collective‑bargaining negotiations; Hamill said the adjustment would be applied to wages negotiated with drivers’ representatives and that the company does not retain the added funds.
Staff and 1st Student calculated the potential levy impact as about 1.13 mills based on last year’s taxable value — roughly $1.53 per year on a $100,000 home — but cautioned the figure is preliminary. District staff said the exact mill impact will be computed after the county releases updated taxable values in early August.
After discussion, Trustee Lucine moved to approve the superintendent’s recommendation; Trustee Wilson seconded. There was no public comment. The motion passed, 7–0.
The addendum applies to the remaining term of the current five‑year contract; staff said they will present final mill‑impact calculations at a later meeting once taxable values are finalized.
