Perryville may go new direction with school buses

PERRYVILLE, Mo. -- Perryville County School District No. 32 is considering driving a different direction for its bus service.

For as long as anyone can remember, the district contracted for bus transportation with Meyer Bus Line Inc. of Perryville. Superintendent Scott Ireland said the district is in its last year of a three-year contract with Meyer and has put out a request for bids for service.

Transportation costs Ireland's district $1.863 million, which includes drivers for its 28 regular bus routes, two special service routes and four to five early childhood buses. The bid deadline is March 11, and the board could make a decision at its March 12 meeting.

A Meyer Bus Line official declined to comment.

Ireland said the district could lease or buy buses or contact with a bus service.

"We've been discussing our options," he said. "Owning's probably not going to happen, but we haven't seen any bids yet. We don't know what the numbers will be yet, so the board's keeping all options open."

If the district leased buses, Ireland said a transportation director and a mechanic would be hired, along with drivers. A maintenance package would be included, so the leasing company would fix any major problems with the vehicles.

Leasing, he said, also would offer significant savings. Owning buses would probably cost more, and more than two people would be needed on-site to maintain them.

He said the district's transportation exploration has "nothing to do with the service of Meyer Bus Line," but finances have to be considered.

"And it just seems like the quotes I've been given are significantly lower than what we're currently paying. It's coming down to the cost," Ireland said.

Altenburg making the switch

Altenburg Public School District has decided to lease buses from Midwest Transportation and will take delivery of two buses in July, superintendent Bleau Deckerd said. The district had been contracting with Meyer Bus Line for its transportation, as well, and, like Perryville, was in the final year of a three-year agreement.

Under its contract with Meyer, the district pays about $112,000 annually for transportation, Deckerd said. "That's just for two bus routes," he added.

Plans are to lease two new buses and possibly buy a smaller third bus as backup, "but we're not 100 percent sure. We may go this way for a few months." Two drivers are being hired.

The new arrangement, set to take effect for the 2014-2015 school year, could save the district $40,000 to $50,000 a year, according to projections, Deckerd said. The district will be responsible for drivers, fuel, inspections, licensing and insurance, among other items, Deckerd said in an email to the Southeast Missourian.

"We did quite a bit of homework," Deckerd said. "We did about six to seven months of research," then started talking seriously about leasing in October or November.

Deckerd said he will be seeking a bus driver's license and one of the male teachers is talking about getting a license, also. "Being a small-school superintendent, you kind of take on some of those extra duties," he said.

The kindergarten through eighth-grade district began researching leasing buses in the spring.

"We are trying to raise additional revenue to tackle a building project we have been looking into, so it was very important for us to try and save where we can," Deckerd said in the email.

"After doing a good deal of research, we established that we could save quite a bit on transportation by leasing our own buses. We enjoyed a great working relationship with Brad Moll at Meyer Bus Line and consider him a good friend of the district. However, in the end, it came down to looking @ how we can increase revenue for the district to look at some other needs we have," Deckerd wrote.

Deckerd said the school needs a new regulation-size gym and revamped classroom space. Bond issues in 2010 and 2013, aimed at building improvements, failed, he said.

rcampbell@semissourian.com

388-3639

Pertinent address: 326 College St., Perryville, Mo.

8432 Main St., Altenburg, Mo.