The idea of contracting out Girard school bus service to two private companies has become a hot button issue in Girard. 17 Girard bus drivers could be without a job if the district sells its bus fleet. According to the Pennsylvania Department Of Education, there are 500 school districts in Pennsylvania. 314 of them contract all bussing, 153 have a combination of contracted and district owned busses, and only 22 districts run their own bus transportation. The Girard School District is one of those districts that still operates their own bus transportation, but come next year, that could change. Girard School Superintendent James Tracy would like to contract the bus service to private companies, Laidlaw and Student Transportation Of America. The district claims it could save one point two million dollars over 5 years, and 3 million dollars over a 10 year period. Those numbers do not add up according to the bus drivers in Girard. They say the district would save only 150 thousand dollars over a 5 year period instead of the 1.2 million dollars the district claims. District officials say the bus drivers are using different starting figures and the districts numbers are audited figures. The board is expected to vote on the bus issue as early as next month.
