10 electric school buses in Round 2 of the U.S. Envi- ronmental Protection Agency Clean School Bus grant. These first 10 buses will be used on routes starting with the 2025-2026 school year. The company applied for an additional 25 EVs in Round 3. Winners are expected to be announced in the next month. Another initiative the district focused on is getting
high school students back on yellow school buses fol- lowing the COVID-19 pandemic. “While most of our schools are served by yellow buses, a bus driver shortage forced us to transition to offering public transit passes for some of our large high schools in 2021,” Gothard explained. “Federal funding from the American Rescue Plan allowed us to offer incentives and higher pay in an effort to build our driver workforce back up to pre-pandemic levels.” Harri added that the district listened to its commu-
nity and heard from families about their desire to get students back on yellow buses. He said that the district invested a significant amount of money to transporta- tion to make it happen. “We believe yellow bus service is the safest for our students and we listened to the com- munity,” Harri said. “Our contractors and the district saw the need to increase driver pay to make it a career opportunity, rather than a part-time job. Some of our
contractors are now offering an eight-hour day when previously they were only paid for hours driven. This has been a huge help.” All high school students that had transitioned to public
transit are now back on the yellow bus service as of January. Gothard said that transportation is one of the most
critical services that a public school district provides for impacting student success. Harri added that Saint Paul has seen stabilization in its district enrollment, and he said he thinks that transportation is one of the many factors that helped make it happen. “Parents and the community rely heavily on transpor-
tation, and we hear that on a daily basis,” he added. “We do everything we can to make it a reliable and safe trip for our students.” Meanwhile, Gothard is working with on a successful
transition to the new Saint Paul superintendent. Simulta- neously, he said he’s also focusing on his family’s move back to Madison and jumping into his new position, which beings on July 1, “with a hint of familiarity and an even greater curiosity about our opportunities for excel- lence,” he said. “It is hard to put these last few weeks into words–I am extremely grateful for wonderful colleagues, friends, students, staff, and families.” ●
32 School Transportation News • APRIL 2024
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