More than the 'big yellow bus'?: Savannah schools explore future transportation solutions

"It's not that big yellow school bus anymore that can solve all the problems," Savannah-Chatham County Public Schools (SCCPSS) Executive Director of Transportation Lanetta Mills said. She made the statement while presenting her Multi-Faceted Transportation Plan update during the school board's July 10 Informal Session.

The main reason the yellow bus falls short is because SCCPSS (as well as districts across the country) still faces a driver shortage.

One action taken by the district and school board to alleviate that shortage has been the purchase of 16 microbuses to invite more applicants, because these Type A buses do not require commercial drivers licenses (CDLs). Another effort was the board's recent approval of the district's 2025 fiscal year budget, which included increasing drivers' pay for the upcoming school year.

Mills is still somewhat new to her role in the district, starting last October after having worked previously for a combined 25 years in transportation departments for Cobb and Dekalb counties' school systems. She has reviewed and instituted best practices in SCCPSS's transportation department related to improving employee morale as well as conducted surveys to assess driver recruitment and retention insights.

While SCCPSS students' transportation options for this year remain the same as last year, Mills's introduced transportation diversification options such as reevaluating a hub system, the possibility of parent carpooling apps and "alternative vehicle" use. Alternate vehicles are essentially rideshare companies that had been approved via Georgia House Bill 51 to transport five to eight students in passenger vans or SUVs.

Which of these options could be adopted by the school board remains to be seen.

Are diversified options the answer?

Board members expressed concerns about outsourcing transportation in any capacity that could increase district spending. At the July 3 Informal Session, District 4 School Board Representative Shawn Kachmer advocated for calculating potential costs of the diversified options for board review. He wanted to know if simply continuing to increase driver salaries could improve driver recruitment and retention, thus allowing SCCPSS better oversight of transportation safety and protocols.

After an annual loss of 12 percent of SCCPSS's drivers over the past five years (a 60 percent loss of workforce since 2019), there may be a path forward. Thirteen drivers resigned or were terminated in the 2023-2024 school year. "That's not 12 percent this year, that's lower," said Mills. In fact, 13 out of the 192 drivers from last year is just under seven percent.

She did share, however, that SCCPSS held 29 recruiting events that netted 16 driver applicants who were initially hired. Eleven of those did not wind up coming onboard. They either dropped out of the required training, failed a pre-screen or declined the position.

Two applicants actually completed the training, but did not return. So, they basically obtained their CDL license through SCCPSS's free training. Mills said, "Guess where they probably went...driving a dump truck or something, on our dime." Why? Because, as she confirmed at the SCCPSS Media Day event on July 22, the district does not have work requirements related to CDL tracking. Mills noted legal issues that currently prevent such measures.

Need a ride to school?: As bus driver shortages persist, here are Savannah students' transportation options

Pay parents to help offset the driver shortage?

Aside from considering one of many parent carpooling apps, other parent incentive programs exist at districts in other parts of the country.

Included in a Savannah Morning News story in January , last year the School District of Philadelphia (PhilaSD) began paying eligible families $300 per month per household to opt out of the district’s transportation system under its Parent Flat Rate Program . The program also has a $150 month option where families can drop students off in the morning but have them ride the bus in the afternoon.

Mills referred to the PhilaSD example in her Informal Session presentation, but had not spoken to anyone at PhilaSD. Responding to Savannah Morning News questions via email, PhilaSD's Program Director Michael Prete said the program reduced busing routes by nearly 30 percent and led to higher attendance percentages among registered families as compared to non-registered families.

In a district of 193,000+ students, over 17,000 students (roughly 13,000 families) registered for the program, which paid out $35 million over the 2023-2024 school year. Prete said that is much less than the cost of busing those students. PhilaSD also uses cab services to offset transportation needs, but it is more expensive than the parent program, which is projected to have 18,000 students participate in 2024-2025.

Mills noted at SCCPSS's Media Day Event that SCCPSS has a much smaller student population than PhilaSD. Also, she said SCCPSS is focused on developing ways to provide service once again for students enrolled in choice and charter schools. Those families might welcome a parent incentive but have already technically opted out of the SCCPSS's transportation system by electing to go to such schools.

To Kachmar and other board member's concerns, the parent option for SCCPSS presents questions of fiscal responsibility that may need in-depth examination.

Joseph Schwartzburt is the education and workforce development reporter for the Savannah Morning News. You can reach him at JSchwartzburt@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: More than the 'big yellow bus'?: Savannah schools explore future transportation solutions