Watch now: Sullivan downsizing from three to two school private bus contractors

BLOUNTVILLE — Sullivan County Schools will transition from three private bus contractors to two over the next three years, the Board of Education unanimously approved in a called meeting Wednesday afternoon.In addition, a Global Positioning System or GPS tracking and routing system will begin to be implemented across buses serving the system in the 2024-25 school year that starts in August.The school board Wednesday afternoon voted 5-0 with two absent to approve a memorandum of understanding among C & S Transit Inc., Central Bus Co. Inc. and the BOE. It resulted from mediation among the parties last week.Before the agreement takes effect next Wednesday, C & S has 59 bus routes, Central 23 and S & R Buses Inc. nine.Board member and ad hoc Transportation Committee Chairman Michael Hughes and school board attorney Chris McCarty said immediate result of the MOU is that 11 routes will be transferred from C & S to Central for 2024-25.Also, work will begin installing the tracking and routing equipment to all buses. The county owns and operates eight special education buses in addition to the contracted regular education routes, not counting some activities buses at individual schools.The system used COVID-19 relief funds to buy 15 buses that have been parked at West Ridge High School, three of which are larger ones suited for regular education transportation use.The special committee Hughes chairs has been looking at a pilot program to operate some routes as contracts expired, but Hughes said that may not be necessary if the new MOU and tracking program work out as expected.DETAILS OF ROUTE SHIFTSAs part of the changeover, effective July 1 for the 2024-25 school year, C & S operated by Mike and Shannon Cox will turn over 11 routes to Central, represented by Jeremy Blair, Hughes said after the meeting. Those include bus routes 101, 115, 117, 224 and 230, according to the MOU.In addition, in the agreement with June 20-dated signatures by Mike and Shannon Cox of C & S and Blair of Central, C & S agreed not to bid on bus routes 301 and 326, and "within the next 10 days, C&S and Central will also agree upon the assignment and transfer of three more routes, including 119."For the 2025-26 school year, C&S will transfer agreements to "any and all remaining 200 routes with Sullivan Schools."And for the 2026-27 school year, starting July 1, 2026, C&S "will assign and transfer to Central the agreements related to any and all the remaining routes with Sullivan Schools."As of July 1, 2026, C&S — as well as Mike and Shannon Cox individually — agree not to in any way compete with and/or solict or recruit employees away from Central," the MOU states. It also says all parties must not "disparage, slander or in any way demean one another to employees and third parties," calling for an "orderly and professional transfer of routes."GPS PROVISIONThe bus tracking and routing is addressed in a section called "GPS Installation," which says that "as soon as practicable, both C & S and Central will cooperate with Sullivan schools to ensure the school system may pay for and install any and all necessary GPS-related software/hardware onto all C & S and Central buses."After the meeting, Hughes said that S & R also has agreed to the GPS software and hardware. He said it will give central office, school administrators and bus companies a real-time view of where buses are. When fully up and running, parents or guardians will be able to know about how long it will be before a late-running bus drops off or picks up their student or students.Hughes said the system will not be fully operational at the start of the school year because of installation and a learning curve for drivers.He said a feature that is planned to be added later at an additional cost will have each student signed into the bus and matched against school system records showing what bus that student is supposed to ride. A photo of the student will pop up on the screen of a tablet-type device the driver will have on the bus.McCarty, speaking to the board through Google Meet from a beach vacation, said the agreement is amicable and cited the "many years" of service Mike Cox has given to Sullivan County.STABLE TRANSITIONMcCarty also said the MOU gives the bus companies, school system and families they serve stability and security over the next three years through the gradual handoff of routes, done under a contract assignment provision that allows one contractor to transfer a bus route or routes to another contractor."It's a good agreement," McCarty said. "A lot of people have worked much harder than I have on this."Vice Chairman Matthew Spivey presided over the meeting in the absence of Chairman Matt Price. Member Michael Hughes made a motion to approve the MOU, seconded by member Randall Jones. Hughes, Jones, Mary Rouse, Spivey and Angie Stanley voted yes. Price and Paul Robinson were absent from the meeting.