The County Press

Almont bus privatization decision delayed




Gretchen Hough, who’s driven a school bus for Almont for 43 years, makes a plea to not privatize the district’s transportation services. Photo by Phil Foley

Gretchen Hough, who’s driven a school bus for Almont for 43 years, makes a plea to not privatize the district’s transportation services. Photo by Phil Foley

ALMONT — Almont Community Schools Board of Education members were supposed to vote on a contract with Dean Transportation Monday evening that would have privatized school transportation services at the end of the school year, but instead gave the district’s unionized bus drivers two weeks to come up with enough concessions to make the move unnecessary.

The board voted 5-1, with chairman Paul Bowman dissenting and board member Dallas Walton abstaining — to table the decision on privatization until a special meeting at 7 p.m. May 30.

“I think this is the wrong thing to do,” said Bowman.

Last month Patrick Dean, vice president of the Lansing-based company that bears his family name, told board members that his firm could provide the district transportation services for less money while paying the district’s drivers the same or more.

Superintendent Bill Kalmar told board members the district is looking at a $125,000 shortfall next school year as a result of declining birth rates that are expected to shrink the district’s school age population.

Almont Community Schools Board Chairman Paul Bowman (left) and Superintendent Bill Kalmar listen to board member John Mills express his concerns about privatizing the district’s transportation services. Photo by Phil Foley

Almont Community Schools Board Chairman Paul Bowman (left) and Superintendent Bill Kalmar listen to board member John Mills express his concerns about privatizing the district’s transportation services. Photo by Phil Foley

“We exist to teach students and we’ve got to balance the budget,” Kalmar told board members Monday night.

Marty Zmiejko, UniServ director for the Michigan Education Association (MEA), which represents Almont’s bus drivers said savings can be found without privatization.

Zmiejko contended that “wages have been flat” and “retirement and health costs have gone down” in recent years. In the meantime, he said, purchase costs in the district have gone up. “It’s not the employees, it’s everything else,” Zmeiejkp said, but he added he believes the employees can come up with at least $109,000 in concessions for the 2019-20 school year alone.

The Dean Transportation plan called no changes in costs in the first year of its proposed five-year contract.

Zmiejko told board members he was confident the bus driver’s union could negotiate $125,000 in savings “in a matter of days.” He said they could start by removing the driver’s attendance incentive and eliminating two bus routes through attrition.

“We’re only $9,000 apart,” he said.

He said the drivers were concerned that switching from the state pension plan to Dean’s 401K plan would hurt drivers in the long run and that while the company said drivers would retain seniority rights, there’s no way to guarantee it.

“All the risk is on the employees,” Zmiejko said.

Bowman was concerned that reopening the driver’s contract would lead to a yearlong negotiation.

“We want to get to yes,” said Zmiejko. He noted the last negotiation with Kalmar only took three sessions.

“We’re here to provide our kids with an education,” said board vice president Jill O’Neil. She warned, “There are other places things are going to have to be cut that are going to effect school classrooms next year and the year after.”

James Wade Jr. agreed and asked how much it costs to water the football field.

Driver Karen Klause said, “We’re not just bus drivers, we’re part of the community. Dean sees an opportunity to make a profit or they would not come here.”

Kalmar told board members that the finance committee had voted 3-0 to recommend accepting the Dean contract. But he added, “The Administration will do what the board wants.”

He did note that North Branch Area Schools recently voted to extend its contract with Dean and no district that has signed with Dean has canceled its contract.

According to Zmiejko, total transportation costs in North Branch have actually gone up and he presented a chart showing that five similar sized school districts that have privatized have seen their costs rise as well.

O’Neil objected noting that at least one of them, Rochester, has a substantially larger student population and school districts are funded based on student population.

Zmiejko countered the districts he selected are geographically similar.

Board member John Miles wanted to know why there wasn’t a competitive bid for transportation services.

Kalmar said in the year the district had been exploring privatization no other firm expressed interest.

He told board members Dean won’t start a transportation program mid-year and wants an answer by the end of the month.

They’ll have it May 30.