AUGUSTA TOWNSHIP, MI - Lincoln Consolidated Schools is considering privatizing busing in hopes of improving service and addressing a driver shortage.
The district’s school board did a first reading of a privatization proposal Monday, April 22. At the next meeting, on May 13, the board is expected to vote on whether to issue a request for proposals from companies interested in a three-year contract to provide transportation for Lincoln schools.
The bids would come back at the end of May, said Superintendent Sean McNatt, and then the school board would need to decide whether Lincoln will continue employing its own bus drivers, bus aides and administrative transportation staff or hire a private company going into the 2019-20 school year.
Lincoln Schools would still own its buses and employ its own maintenance staff, McNatt said.
The district won’t know if privatizing busing will save money until the bids come back, McNatt said. He said he decided to raise the option in an effort to improve the quality of service, as Lincoln continues to struggle to employ enough bus drivers.
Lincoln needs 35 drivers to cover its routes and currently has 33 drivers on staff, McNatt said. Due to the driver shortage, bus routes are combined or drivers have to complete two routes in one day, which means students are late arriving at school or delayed in leaving school at the end of the day.
“Know that I do not take the possibility of outsourcing our employees lightly,” McNatt wrote in a message to families ahead of Monday’s board meeting. “Many have dedicated their careers to transporting our students to and from school, but we can no longer ask our families to deal with the continual upheaval they have experienced.”
Lincoln bus drivers start at $15.58 an hour and can make up to $19.33 an hour, depending on years with the school district. Drivers are eligible for medical benefits and paid leave.
The current three-year contract for transportation employees expires June 30, 2020.
