VVSD Sets Public Hearing for Bus Service Proposals

Looking for another way to save money, the Board of Education last month said it , a move one staff member said could save more than $1 million over the next several years.

Now, the board is opening up the floor to residents. A public hearing on a request for proposal for student transportation services is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. Monday, Oct. 24.

Community members will have the chance to speak up before the board’s regular meeting begins at 7:30 p.m. According to the district, an information report on proposals that are received will be presented at the regular meeting. But the board will not take any action during the public hearing or the Oct. 24 board meeting, the district said in a press release.

The board is scheduled to consider offers from various transportation companies before taking action at its Dec. 12 meeting.

Currently, the district employs 192 bus drivers and has more than 250 employees who would be affected if bus service were outsourced.

Gary Grizaffi, assistant superintendent for administrative services, last month told the board that all 255 transportation employees would have to be interviewed by any company chosen to provide bus service to Valley View. Grizaffi added that nearly all of the employees would be rehired.

"Just about everybody would be offered a job," he said. "Probably 95 to 97 percent of folks would be brought back." According to Grizaffi, the employees would continue to be paid what they make now in year one of a three-year contract. The savings to the district would come in years two and three, when the district would be able to avoid certain transportation-related costs and fees, he told board members.