Terrebonne looks at outside busing

After a year of compiling information, Terrebonne Parish School District’s Transportation Committee is set to discuss whether to hire an outside contractor to manage the Transportation Department and replace the school fleet with up-to-date buses.

Transportation Supervisor Lydia Alleman said many school districts are hiring outside contractors to manage transportation departments for added efficiency and cost reductions.

In February 2007, the board agreed to have Superintendent Ed Richard and Alleman research the cost of hiring an outside contractor.

“We didn’t have the time to find an outside contractor and still run the department,” Alleman said. “We decided to have Laidlaw/First Student give us the quotes the board members were looking for.”

The district has had a bus lease contract with Laidlaw Education Service since 2000. However, First Student purchased Laidlaw last fall. Alleman said the company would honor the parish’s contract through 2010.

First Student presented the committee with four proposals, all of which would add additional costs to the yearly budget. The Transportation Department’s operating budget is $8.7 million a year.

The first proposal suggests First Student manage the entire transportation department, which includes 170 full-time employees, at an added cost of $3.7 million. Another option calls for the company to manage only the school district’s non-tenured Transportation Department employees who have fewer than three years experience at an added cost of $2 million. The third proposal calls for First Student to hire 25 additional substitute drivers to fill the vacant school bus routes at an added cost of $1 million per year.

Transportation Committee Chairman Gregory Harding is concerned about the cost of hiring an outside contractor to manage the department.

“First Student said that they are going to save us money, but in the long haul I don’t think so. What may look good to you may not be what’s good for you,” he said. “There are a lot of things we need to consider before approving the proposals, but in the end we will make the best decision for the students and the Transportation Department.”

Another issue plaguing the department is replacing the school bus fleet with up-to-date buses. For the past year, parents and school bus operators have requested air conditioning be added to the buses.

“The spring days and summer months are only getting hotter. The students and school bus operators have to sit on those hot buses for hours enduring the heat. We have to do something before it becomes a health issue,” Alleman said.

An air-conditioned fleet leased from First Student would cost the parish $231,662 a month. The price, like the summer heat, is steadily rising. Sources have told Alleman that a new air-conditioned bus could run as high as $90,000 to buy and $1,200 a month to lease in 2010, which is the year the school contract with First Student ends.

“Many of the buses are hitting the 200,000-mile mark and will need to be replaced in the next two years anyway. The question is do we replace them now or wait to replace them in two years and pay the higher price,” she said.

The committee will meet in the boardroom of the school board office on April 14 at 5 p.m. to select which of the four proposals will be presented to the school board on April 22.

First Student currently has a contract to provide bus service in Terrebonne through 2010. * File photo