BCSD looking to remedy transportation issues for extracurricular activities

BONNERS FERRY — A lack of extracurricular bus drivers has forced the Boundary County School District to cancel games for middle school teams and, in the past, send teams to state in rented vans, leading the school district to explore new transportation options.

BCSD Superintendent Jan Bayer said last year bus drivers received a 20% raise, this year another 8% was added. The district also saw the return of a retired driver for a trip down to Orofino.

“If a driver returns from retirement, we start them back at the pay they retired at,” she said.

At least three people have offered to drive buses for the district, but only want to cover extracurricular events. Bayer said that is a dilemma for regular drivers who use those trips in addition to their regular routes for extra money, which they need.

With this the district is looking at other transportation options and is getting a quote for suburbans to transport students to extracurricular activities.

The vans or suburbans could be used to transport smaller teams, while freeing up a bus for larger teams. The vehicles would be driven by district staff, who are drug tested and receive a background check.

Bayer said the district's insurance won’t cover 15-passenger vans, so mini vans and suburbans are an option. She added she was not in favor of using vans, but that the district's transportation department would train drivers and a CDL is not required to drive a van versus a bus.

Vice chair Teresa Rae said last year the high school varsity volleyball team rented vans for its state trip to Twin Falls, because buses were already taken for other state trips which were at the same time.

Coaches drove to Idaho Falls and the cost of renting would have covered the cost of having two vehicles all year-round, Rae said.

When coaches are transporting athletes and coaching, the district has to track how many hours the coaches are awake. Typically the team and coach will have to stay the night somewhere before driving back home, due to the hours the coach has been awake.

Board chair Ron MacDonald said the reason the district got into this conversation a few years ago was because a coach drove home after a competition and stayed awake by “chugging energy drinks.”

Trustee Candance Kelly said she was not in favor of using suburbans or vans for transportation due to safety concerns. She said with Idaho’s icy roads it is safer to have kids in a bus with a trained driver at the helm than in a van.

Once a decision to move to vans over buses is made, she added it will have a chain-reaction 20 and 30 years down the road and that the board needs to think long-term, especially since it involves safety concerns of the district’s students.

MacDonald said the district is sending small teams of eight golfers or 15 volleyball players on 70-passenger buses.

“The numbers don’t pencil out,” he said.

Bayer said that with a lack of bus drivers there has been an attempt to move middle school games to Friday or Saturday night, but that other schools could not accommodate that request.

Bayer said BCSD has a transportation matrix, which is a system that lists transportation options in priority.

The matrix says if bus drivers are available, then the first mode of transportation is a bus or commercial air, she said.

“If you have a smaller team, fly to Boise, if you can get good rates, and then rent a van there,” Bayer said.

If all bus drivers are taken, then the second option of transport is suburban or minivan, she said, adding that there is a local vendor that the district has used before.

When going to sports events as a team, students must travel with the team. If they are competing as an individual, they can be transported by their parents, she said.

Last year, two Bonners Ferry track athletes competed at the Mooberry Relays in Spokane and were transported by their parents. On the same day the rest of the track and field team competed at a regional competition.

The board voted 3-1 to go out for bids for minivans and suburbans in order to get quotes. Kelly voted “no.” The board will make a decision at the next meeting on Tuesday, Oct. 24 at 6 p.m. at the district office.

Rae said looking forward the district should look into scheduling games on Fridays and Saturday for high school teams and keep middle school games during the week.

Bayer said the other schools will have to agree to the schedule changes.