Pekin will shut down its bus department and no longer provide school bus service for Pekin Community High School and Pekin Public Schools District 108 students at the end of this school year.
Getting to the finish line of the more than 20-year arrangement has proven to be difficult because of a bus driver shortage caused by the impending dissolution of the bus department.
More than 10 school bus drivers have left since August for other full-time jobs, according to City Manager John Dossey.
The Pekin City Council on Monday reluctantly but unanimously approved a contract with the First Student bus transportation company to provide three school bus drivers for at least 90 days.
The drivers will be from the Bloomington-Normal and Galesburg areas and will be provided city vehicles strictly for their commute. Location tracking and/or mileage checks will be done to ensure the vehicles are not used for other purposes.
Nobody at the council table cheered the agreement with First Student, but all agreed it was necessary.
"We have to bus the kids," said council member Jake Fletcher, whose comment was echoed by other council members.
Council member Karen Hohimer said she was disappointed the city had to address the school bus driver shortage through outsourcing despite its aggressive recruitment efforts.
"I can't believe there's no one in the area who wants to drive a school bus during this school year. We can get drivers from Bloomington and Galesburg, but not Pekin?" she said.
"I'd like to make a plea. Is anyone out there interested in being a school bus driver for the rest of the school year? Maybe someone who drives a church bus on Sundays?"
The city's agreement with First Student is for 90 days, with two optional 90-day extensions that would continue the agreement through the end of the school year.
The agreement can be terminated with 30 days notice if the city would "unexpectedly find and onboard enough new drivers," Dossey said. "That gives us options."
"It was the best deal we could find," said City Attorney Jim Vasselli.
First Student drivers will be paid for as many as eight hours a day, which includes their commute and time between shifts.
Council members expressed concerns about the First Student drivers using city vehicles, and drivers being paid while they're not driving a bus.
"As Jake said, we need to do this," said council member Rick Hilst. "But we're not being fiscally responsible, in my opinion."
The city reached out to First Student and other area bus companies in an effort to solve the school bus driver shortage.
Dossey said Illinois Central's proposal had substantially higher costs per driver than First Student and higher expenses because of travel and lodging – most of its drivers are based in the Chicago area – and Peoria Charter could not help the city because it's also experiencing a driver shortage.
The estimated cost of the city's agreement with First Student through Dec. 31 is between $70,000 and $80,000.
Another $200,000 has been allocated from the bus department's reserves [$150,000 of the approximately $1.4 million in reserves] and contingency to cover the additional costs should the agreement be extended.
"At least there's money in the budget for this," Fletcher said. "We're not stealing from somewhere else."
Dossey said Pekin High School will soon begin its recruitment of school bus drivers. He expects District 108 to go the outsourcing route for drivers.
