District working with Dousman Transport to reduce cost
“Nothing can overshadow the health and safety of our kids.”
— Superintendent Robert Crist
By Vicky Wedig
SLN STAFF
The Delavan-Darien School Board will likely consider in April renewing its contract with Dousman Transport Co., which has provided busing for the district since 2007.
The district switched from Lenon Bus Service Inc. to Dousman Transport six years ago when Dousman Transport purchased Lenon.
Dousman Transport provides bus services for 11 of Walworth County’s 16 school districts.
District administrators met with Dousman Transport officials in November after a second-grade Darien Elementary School student was not allowed on the bus. The driver had reported discipline incidents to the school, which suspended the 7-year-old from the bus for three days. The boy was not allowed on the bus Nov. 1 and began walking home to Delavan – 12 miles away. A passing motorist noticed the boy, picked him up and took him home.
The 7-year-old’s parents were unaware that he had been suspended for the bus as a disciplinary measure. His parents had been notified by mail that the child had been suspended from the bus, but the parents had not been called.
Crist said as a result of that incident, he re-affirmed to principals that no transportation changes are to occur for students until their parents are involved in the process.
The district’s policy is to notify parents by phone of any change in the child’s bus routine.
“Nothing can overshadow the health and safety of our kids,” Crist said.
He said school leaders are expected to step forward to ensure that and said all of them were reminded of the district’s policy regarding transportation changes.
The bus company handled the incident as an internal personnel matter, he said.
Crist said he is now working with the company on ways to reduce the cost of the bus contract.
The contract costs the district $927,000 a year – about 3 percent of its overall budget. That figure includes daily bus service and transportation for Early Childhood students. The amount does not include fuel costs or costs for additional transportation needs.
As the district does every year, Crist said he is working with the company to revise routes to fill some of the buses more and reduce costs. The downside of that is changing routes could increase ride times for students, he said.
