Boston School Committee approves $6.6M to fund new bus driver contract

BOSTON -- December 18, 2024, Boston School Committee unanimously approved a $6.6 million supplemental appropriation to fund a new four-year school bus driver contract and received a staff recommendation to halve the city's exam school admissions tiers from eight to four. The December 18 vote on the $6,637,486 appropriation, covering wage increases under a collective bargaining agreement ratified November 15 between bus vendor Transdev and United Steelworkers Local 8751, follows what Executive Director of Transportation Ian Rosengard called a 92 percent morning on-time performance rate in November, more than a full percentage point above the prior year. Chief of Data, Information, and Systems Improvement Monica Hogan presented a proposal to consolidate the eight socioeconomic admissions tiers to four, which would double each tier's share of exam school invitations from 12.5 percent to 25 percent; the committee is expected to vote on that change at its January 15 meeting. CFO David Bloom reported BPS finished fiscal year 2024 with a $26,299 surplus, extending the district's streak of balanced budgets to 34 consecutive years, and the committee also unanimously approved four grants totaling $4,138,421, including a $2.23 million mental health staffing grant and a nearly $1.6 million electric school bus rebate.