While the agreement will help cover gaps in service for the upcoming school year, Kathleen Brown, deputy superintendent of operations for FBISD, said the administration’s long-term goal is to reduce reliance on outside vendors.
“We have a goal to be able to do as much as we can in-house to meet the needs of our students,” Brown said. “What that gives us is an opportunity to continue to analyze, to look at where we're going.”
What’s changing
The new contract allows for up to 130 bus routes, up from 100 under the 2019 agreement, providing greater flexibility to meet transportation needs, Mike Jones, executive director of transportation, said in an email.
By the numbers
Jones said the district currently employs 201 drivers—46 of them part-time—but still has 49 uncovered routes, which are being filled by nondriving staff, including dispatchers, trainers and mechanics.
Since January, the district has hired nine certified drivers and brought in 29 trainees. Although the district fell short of its goal to hire 50 certified drivers, Jones said that trainee recruitment exceeded expectations and has added more trainers to speed up certification.
The comparison
FBISD and GoldStar Transit are not in direct competition for drivers, Jones said. GoldStar offers a higher starting hourly wage of $21.50, as opposed to the district’s $20.41.
However, FBISD drivers receive Teacher Retirement System and health insurance benefits valued at $570 per month, which are benefits GoldStar doesn’t offer, Jones said.
Brown said unlike GoldStar drivers, FBISD drivers are ineligible for unemployment benefits during school breaks due to their contract containing a letter of reasonable assurance, which are issued by a district to indicate a noncontract employee is likely to have a job when school resumes, according to the Texas Association of School Boards website.
One more thing
District staff covering driving duties currently receive no extra compensation, Brown said, which is affected by the district’s current $34.6 million shortfall looming ahead of the 2025-26 school year.
“We're in a budget crisis right now, and so we are working to do other things to celebrate our staff for the job they're doing until we’re in a better financial landscape to incentivize,” Brown said.
Looking ahead
The contract is a one-year agreement with four optional annual renewals as FBISD aims to reduce outsourcing over time as it strengthens its internal driver workforce, Brown said.
