School Bus Hike In Elmhurst Questioned

ELMHURST, IL – The proposed cost hike in Elmhurst School District 205's bus contract could have been worse, an official suggested this week.

The district's main bus provider, Cincinnati-based First Student, proposed a 12 percent increase for next school year. That's on top of a 17 percent hike this school year.

The district's administration is recommending the school board go with that proposal.

At this week's board meeting, Chris Whelton, the district's assistant superintendent of finance, said double-digit percentage bus increases are not unusual these days.

"When I talk to contractors, this is looking to be standard," Whelton said. "I talked to a colleague (from another district) recently, and they only got one bid back, and it was their current contractor. It was a 22 percent increase. In talking to bus companies, they did think we would get a much bigger increase if we went out to bid."

Under state law, the district is allowed to renew its contracts with its bus company for another year, unless another contractor asked for the district to go out to bid. No other company did so.

Board member Chris Kocinski asked whether any of Elmhurst's peer districts provided bus service in-house.

Some do, Whelton said, but they are struggling. They are seeing a doubling and tripling of school bus prices and having to spend a lot of time and money finding bus drivers, he said.

"Hiring a professional, national bus company, I think, helps a lot with attracting and retaining drivers, plus their expertise in the transportation market," Whelton said.

Another member, Karen Stuefen, asked whether the district could further consolidate bus routes and whether the current ones were full. She suggested including performance metrics in the contract.

Stuefen also said she wanted the district to avoid telling the bus company to "increase as much as you want because our hands are tied."

Whelton responded, "We do run very close to capacity on a lot of our routes. But I will see if I can look into performance measures with the contracts."

Superintendent Keisha Campbell said the district started to internally track bus pickup times after it received complaints about lateness last year.

School board President Kara Caforio noted school bus service is not optional.

"We have people who say, 'Why can't we get rid of busing, which would be huge savings?' But we are required by law to provide busing as a public school," Caforio said. "I know that seems ridiculous to say, but I think it's good we clarify. We have to figure out a way to navigate the increasing costs and still provide the service to students."

The school board is set to vote on the bus contract at a later meeting.

It is also expected to vote on a contract with Villa Park's Cottage Hill Operating Co, which provides special education bus services. A 12 percent increase is recommended for Cottage Hill as well.