board member and more recently as president-elect, Dimmendaal has been a fixture at national conferences such as the National School Boards Association and the American Association of School Administrators, again promoting the mes- sage that private bus companies could offer school districts added cost savings and increased value. She admits contract-
ing isn’t for everybody, but she said school boards and administrations should know they have the choice. A big boost
to contractors could
come in South Carolina. NSTA and Dimmendaal have been meeting with staffers for Gov. Nikki Haley after the first-term governor announced in her inaugural address in January that the
state could save money and increase efficiency by outsourcing its fleet of school buses, the last in the nation to be owned, operated and maintained by the state government. That pro- posal has not been popular with all, but Dimmendaal said, if done correctly, contracted school busing could be a very good thing for South Carolina. For example, NSTA has
discouraged
the governor from wanting to turn over the state fleet as early as this fall. NSTA explained that such a time frame was un- realistic. And NSTA is trying to talk South Carolina out of awarding a state-wide bid to just one contractor. Dimmendaal said there are already smaller contractors who may be best suited to serve school districts because they have worked and lived in the state for many decades if not much longer. And opening up contracts to multiple bid- ders could prompt new entries into the business, and more jobs. Still, contractors face many obstacles.
Dimmendaal said a main item on NSTA’s agenda continues to be fighting illegal en- croachment by local transit agencies. She added that school district budget cuts don’t help. NSTA remains committed to reporting any possible violations of the St. Germain Amendment, approved by Con- gress in 1973 to protect private school bus companies from competition by federally- funded transit agencies. Another concern is that school bus driv-
ers employed by private companies are seemingly held to a higher standard, and a more expensive one, by the FMCSA. Mean- while, publicly-employed school bus drivers are largely exempt from possible sleep apnea testing regulations. She said NSTA recently found that 68 percent of school bus driv- ers are school district employees that don’t have to adhere to regulations that contrac- tor drivers must meet. Meanwhile, only owners of private
school buses would be mandated to install electronic on-board recorders throughout their fleets. Ten there’s the issue of unions. “I think they definitely impede on our
ability to be flexible in our business,” she said. “If you strictly have to go on a senior- ity basis, sometimes you just need to be able to make quick decisions, and unions can be a hindrance in those instances.” ■
36 School Transportation News Magazine June 2011
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