Donna is on the cutting edge of a chang- ing transportation industry. She’s in close contact with all of our school’s transpor- tation directors about what they need for their drivers. Right now, she’s searching for resources for additional training and for electric vehicle grants and is also in- volved with the infrastructure planning.” On April 8, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul
approved a budget that includes an ag- gressive plan to require all school buses be powered by all-electric batteries by 2035. Less than two weeks later, BOCES along with the Lion Electric Company and vehi- cle-to-grid provider Nuvve hosted a ride and drive, giving local bus drivers, teach- ers, students, and school board members a sneak peek at the future of school buses. Located east of Syracuse, meanwhile, the Madison-Oneida BOCES in Verona, New York, provides driver training and ve- hicle maintenance for 10 school districts plus contracts with a private bus operator to transport adults to special needs pro- grams. Transportation Supervisor Frank Slawiak oversees a 12-bay shop. “The Oneida City School District built this facil- ity but with us in mind,” Slawiak explained. “We lease it from them. A warm, well-lit facility helps us retain technicians.” Of the member districts, one has its
own maintenance facility. But Clinton Central is also benefitting from bus main- tenance services despite not belonging to the BOCES. “They were contracting out the work on the 28 buses in their fleet to a regular garage,” Slawiak said. “Their board agreed to see if we could save them any money, and they saved $100,000 the first year by having us service their fleet.” The system is very flexible between
individual districts. BOCES bills for hours and marks up parts like any private vehicle repair shop would. However, the BOCES rate is $59 per hour, compared to $130 to $140 hour rate that other shops charge. “I do a labor study every year to stay on top of prices. We have set hours for services like brake work,” Slawiak said. “There is daily communication between the dis- tricts and our garage. Some schools prefer to access our software to enter mileage, or they’ll call to discuss what they need. We’ll also service lawn mowers and other maintenance equipment.”
Commonwealth Cooperation Anthony Devlin, assistant to the
superintendent for the Neshaminy School District in Pennsylvania, noted collaboration with neighboring school districts—like Pennsbury Schools that transports some students to an excep- tional school in Philadelphia—to develop joint bus routes. “We provide the driver and van, and they provide the aide, to get those special needs students where they need to go,” Devlin shared. Neshaminy District also cooperates
with Bensalem School District to provide transportation to a special needs program in Devlin’s home district. “I was un- able to provide transportation for a little girl, so they are helping us out,” Devlin explained. “The families had developed such a great relationship with the driver, that we are keeping the same driver on the route so that family, and the student, are more comfortable.” Normally, Devlin said he can’t guaran- tee the same driver, but he appreciates the peace of mind that special needs par- ents have knowing who is driving their child. “It can be stressful enough trusting some bus driver with your most valuable asset, your child, but imagine doing it when your child can’t speak or they can’t help themselves in other ways.” The Pennsylvania Department of Edu-
cation is set up so that each county is an Intermediate Unit (IU). Philadelphia is one large unit. Devlin’s school is part of Bucks County IU, which is comprised of 13 districts. The Buck’s County IU operates its own fleet in addition to contracting with outside transportation agencies, especially for special needs students. “In a bad economy, schools have to be
responsible to our tax base by curtail- ing costs,” said Devlin. “Staffing is about 80 percent of the cost of running most businesses, and we’ve tried to reduce that. Neshaminy’s transportation union agreed to allow a certain percentage of district transportation to be outsourced.”
Municipalities Helping School Districts Rosalyn Vann-Jackson is the execu-
tive director of student enrollment and operational support for the Broken Arrow
www.stnonline.com 17
Are you currently sharing services with neighboring districts?
64% No, and we are not planning on it
20% yes
14% Other (No, but we would consider it, have in the past, for a select group of students.)
2% No, but we are
in talks to do so (Out of 74 responses to a recent STN magazine survey.)
Please select all the services you are currently sharing or are considering sharing.
82% Specialized transportation services (I.e., IDEA, McKinney-Vento Act)
41% Drivers 35% Maintenance
35% Training providers
6% Dispatchers (Out of 17 responses. Total does not equal 100. Multiple answers allowed.)
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