Cape school district considering transportation options

The Cape Girardeau School District is traveling two paths in determining the future of transporting its students.

As administrators investigate the possibilities of operating a district-owned bus system, requests for proposals are out to contract transportation service providers -- including longtime contractor, Cincinnati-based First Student Inc.

Neil Glass, the district's director of administrative services, said the bids are slated to be called March 31, and the proposals will go before the Cape Girardeau School Board at its April meeting.

Simultaneously, Glass and staff continue to research the feasibility of a district-owned fleet.

"Time is of the essence right now," Glass said. "We do have a sense of urgency to get that contract if that is what we are going to do, or if we're going with the district-owned transportation we have to get a contract out for the purchase of buses.

"We don't have any time to waste."

The current contract with First Student expires June 30, which would carry the district through the summer school session.

Cape Girardeau's public school system is in the final year of its contract with the transportation services provider, and Glass has said the time is right to research options.

The administrator is taking inventory of area districts that operate their own fleets, including the geographically sprawling Jackson School District, whose buses log more than 600,000 miles per year. Glass said he's researching the pros and cons of purchasing a fleet or leasing, the price tag for infrastructure, including storage, and the expense of personnel.

Glass did not have cost estimates, but said it would take about 30 buses to transport the district's students to and from school. As of last week, he said there were a lot of unknowns.

"We're not sure where fuel prices are going to peak at. Then there's storage of fuel," he said. "There's personnel staffing, hiring drivers, a director to oversee the operation. There are a lot of factors to get that infrastructure up and running."

Whether the district contracts for service or operates its own buses, Glass said it will feel the pain of rising fuel prices.

In October, the administrator said the bus manufacturing market has been hit hard by the downturn, and vendors are "hungry." It's an environment that could provide attractive financing on new buses and leased fleets, and that could make a district-owned operation affordable, Glass said.

Studies vary on the cost benefits and drawbacks of contracting and public ownership. While private contracts are on the rise, especially in difficult economic times, public entities still dominate school bus service. Of Missouri's 545 school districts and charter schools, 377 operate transportation systems while 168 contract, according to the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education.

Glass said he wasn't sure whether First Student would submit a proposal, but he added he would not have a problem maintaining a relationship with the provider.

Asked if he was leaning one way on a recommendation, Glass said he was not comfortable making a decision at this point.

"We're taking this decision very seriously, and we want to make sure we're doing what's right for Cape's public schools," he said.

mkittle@semissourian.com

388-3627

Pertinent address:

301 N. Clark Ave. Cape Girardeau, MO