The Rockford School Board is considering a plan that would outsource management of its school bus service for 18,000 passengers per day.
District leaders discussed a potential bid with “First Student” during a public hearing last night, according to the Rockford Register Star.
The proposal would have the Ohio-based company take over the system for the coming school year. The 220 district bus drivers would have the opportunity to keep their jobs but work under First Student instead of the school district. State law also would require that their current pay and benefits be carried over.
Under the plan, First Student would only employ the bus drivers. The school district would continue to own and maintain the buses, pay for fuel, and control bus routes.
District officials claim the plan would save about $426,000 in labor costs over the next three years. Members of the bus drivers' union, AFSCME Council 31, criticized the plan as "punishment" over contract demands. Bus drivers, food-service workers and paraprofessionals went on strikefor three days in March over ongoing negotiations.
If approved, the outsourcing plan could begin as early as June.