SEATTLE (AP) - Seattle Public Schools will get $562,540 in damages and more accountability measures from its primary school-bus contractor.
The Seattle Times reports the School Board approved the agreement with First Student unanimously Wednesday evening following two years of significant delays and a driver strike.
The district’s three-year contract with First Student is worth about $90 million. Inconsistent service from the carrier required the district to spend millions supplementing service from other companies, including $1.5 million in payments to Tacoma-based bus company Durham School Services.
The district still agreed to the terms of the settlement anyway because “it will allow the parties to focus on working together to continue improvements in bus service for students while avoiding the uncertainty and cost of litigation,” according to the agreement.
The agreement also extended the district’s contract with the provider for another school year, despite many families calling on the district to terminate its contract with the company following years of failure to provide on-time and consistent bus service so severe that some children missed entire weeks at school or were put at risk, according to a Seattle Times investigation published in September.
An early 2019 audit found that district’s process to attract other bidders for the transportation contract was deficient.
Extending the lifetime of the 2017 contract - initially set to expire at the end of this school year - will allow time for the district to develop “new and innovative ways of providing student transportation,” according to the agreement.
The district did not make any staff available for an interview.
“The Agreement between SPS and First Student is an important step to improving yellow bus service,” the district said in an email.
In a statement, First Student echoed the sentiment: “This marks a new chapter in our relationship and the best path forward to provide safe and reliable service.”
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