News
Studies, Readers Weigh in On In-House Versus Out-Sourced Busing Services
WRITTEN BY BARB FASING S
chool districts across America are continually challenged with the decision of whether to keep their busing in-house or select the
benefits of outsourcing bus services. Nine out of 10 districts who responded to this month’s magazine survey chose to maintain control of their operations by hiring drivers and mechanics, maintaining buses, training drivers and overseeing payroll and benefits. Tis outdistances the overall industry average of two-thirds of districts keeping transportation in house. But are times changing for some districts?
Extensive studies indicate maybe, as numer- ous options are being presented for districts to save money, transport students more efficiently and help cure driver shortages. A 72-page study titled “Miles to Go:
Bringing School Transportation into the 21st Century,” was recently completed by Bellwether Education Partners. Te 18-month study focused on school trans- portation past, present and future. Te two authors, Phillip Burgoyne Allen
and Jennifer O’Neal Scheiss, discovered the complexities of transporting students in
the safest and most efficient manner. While speaking with both the school districts and the contractors, they found that, although contracting school bus services would work for many districts, it would not be the right solution for many others but was found to have huge budget implications. “Contracting can help school districts with driver shortage problems, bus main- tenance issues and cost reduction in future years. Districts want to save money and improve service,” Scheiss said. “Te studies show that one-third of all school districts use contracted services for busing, and deciding to go with a contractor depends on what’s driving your challenges.” According to ONVIA’s “10 Hotspots
in Government Contracting for 2017,” outsourcing bus services can provide short-term revenue from selling buses and reduce costs for districts maintaining and operating fleets of vehicles. Outsoucing can also eliminate expensive public worker benefits that are a major budget item, and districts may enjoy some reduced legal lia- bility. ONVIA studies also show that bids for school bus contracting by a nation-
wide basis have risen 10 percent from the 2015-2016 school year. In response to the recent STN survey that examines in-house versus outsourcing bus services, many districts noted that they may be gradually choosing alternatives to in-house busing in response to various obstacles. “Te cost of busing students is greater for us because of where we are lo- cated,” said Rhonda Harris, transportation director for Sheridan School District in Arkansas. Te district buses 1,800 students on 42 buses and covers 622 square miles. Schools are located very far apart in
the rural community. But none of this means contracting is a slam dunk. “It takes a special kind of person to drive a bus, and we are currently suffering from a driver shortage, despite our advertise- ments and access to online applications,” she added. “If outside people are brought in to transport students, the community might not like that.” Driver shortages are also creating difficul-
ty for Transportation Director Kevin Kelm of Dowagiac Union Schools in Michigan. Kelm’s district, which operates 12 buses for grades K-12, is rural and the nearby contrac- tor options are few. Large national school bus companies are not available. Kelm said the school board prefers to keep buses in-house. As far as drivers go, Kelm seeks solutions such as continually posting jobs to request either full or part-time drivers. Although driver shortages plague many
struggling districts, others commented that they can maintain a sufficient busing staff. Ryan Lyman is director of transportation
for rural Lincoln County schools in Afton, Wyoming. “We are in good shape,” said
The proverbial pot of gold at the end of the rainbow is in the eye of the beholder when it comes to a school district managing its own school bus services or contracting them to a bus company.
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School Transportation News • JULY 2017
CELEBRATING25YEARS
PHOTO CREDIT: COOK-ILLINOIS CORPORATION
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