SPECIAL REPORT
Martucci’s comments were subsequently reinforced
by the New York Association for Pupil Transportation’s recent call for the state legislature and Gov. Andrew Cuo- mo to amend the executive budget proposal to maintain the current funding formula for school districts and cover the unexpected stand-by costs incurred by student transporters during the pandemic. In a news release, NYAPT said the state’s student transporters were in limbo for much of 2020, standing by awaiting a call from the governor to resume service at a moment’s notice. The result, according to NYAPT, was that school districts and their contractor partners “experienced a number of unforeseen short and long- term costs associated with COVID-19 that have not been fully addressed in the executive budget proposal.” As both NYAPT and Martucci pointed out, these expens- es include additional labor costs to clean and disinfect school buses and costs to purchase the cleaning and disinfecting solutions and equipment as well as personal protective equipment. NYAPT Executive Director David Christopher said in the
news release that school transportation departments and school bus contractors did not cease operation during the COVID-19 stand-by. “Instead, they were busy delivering meals and instructional materials and maintaining their fleets and operations while schools were closed.” Dan Kobussen, vice president of Kobussen Buses in
Wisconsin, said his company took a double hit with the drop in revenue from his charter business as well as stu- dent transportation services. Kobussen said his contract fulfillment varied from getting paid nothing by some school districts to 100 percent by others. “That was depending on the contract, depending on the school district, and depending on the individuals we were dealing with,” Kobussen said. “Wisconsin is a very district-centric state with strong local control, so the state didn’t intervene.”
On the other hand, Benish said the state of Illinois and the school districts there have been relatively good to contractors. “The schools have been cooperating,” he said. “We charged them the bare minimum and they understood that if they didn’t support us, we wouldn’t be around when they went back to school.” Benish said most school districts nationwide allowed
contractors to bill services while others refused. School districts that owned their own buses paid their drivers the entire time because they are school employees, but a contractor is not a school employee. “A lot of vendors have been hurt and it’s difficult for the associations to keep going. It will take years to climb out of this,” Benish continued. “Everybody I’ve talked to in all kinds of businesses related to yellow buses have been on
24 School Transportation News • APRIL 2021
the edge. The domino effect kicks in.” Macysyn said a major challenge to implementing a financial solution is that funding formulas for school transportation vary from state to state. “The education- al system in this country is a checkerboard of different operations and funding mechanisms and that’s where it emanates from,” Macysyn said.
Rolling with the Punches Meanwhile, First Student seems to be ahead of the
curve in weathering the storm created by the pandemic and appears to be poised and ready to hit the ground running when things return to normal. The largest contractor in North America has suffered
similar adversity created by the pandemic alone, includ- ing driver layoffs and dealing with contractual concerns. But recent initiatives such as Start Safe, a comprehen- sive effort to prevent the transmission of COVID-19, has helped the student transportation company maintain its readiness in anticipation of the start of school. Claire Miller, First Student’s senior vice president, said
the company’s strong market position has enabled it to retain 96 percent of its 1,100 school district contracts and increase its fleet to 43,000 buses. “Everybody in our industry has seen challenging times
and we are no exception,” Miller said. “A year ago, we never envisioned we would be working in this envi- ronment and we know that’s true for all of the student transportation providers, so it’s no secret this has been a challenging time. We are fortunate enough we are con- tinuing to weather this storm. We’re focused on growing our strong market position and as a result we’re continu- ing to invest in new vehicles, innovation, opportunities and technologies. You could argue there is no more important time or need for this investment than now.” Benish observed that things are looking up, howev-
er, with some relief in sight, as President Joe Biden has promised that most public schools would be reopened by this month. “The good news is the pendulum is swinging the other
way,” Benish said. “More and more school districts are going back. A lot of districts have done all they possibly can with remote learning, but remote learning is not a long-term solution. Face-to-face instruction is needed. No interaction has been tough on kids. A lot of special needs students are regressing without the daily interac- tion and you can imagine how hard it is on parents who have to work. It’s very frustrating for everybody and has caused a lot of mental anguish, but it’s getting better. “The worst is over, and it will get better, but it will take
longer than I thought. Contractors will survive, but it’s going to be tough.” ●
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