Livingston ESA’s Regional Transportation Collaborative MAISA Summer Conference 2011

Background Survey of local school board members in April of 2009 Transportation Study conducted in Summer/Fall of 2009 Presentation to Livingston County Association of School Boards (November 2009) Four out of five districts chose to participate in the collaborative beginning with the school year.

Structure of the RTC Consortium agreement between LESA and all participating districts Individual contracts with each district for specific services Initial three-year agreement Buses (with one exception) were titled to LESA No Market Value Purchases – Transfers were to LESA for $1 and then will transfer back to the district at the end of the agreement for $1.

Fast Facts 134 buses (1 district kept title to their buses) Employees of the Agency: 3 Supervisors, 8.5 dispatchers/routers, 7 mechanics, 179 drivers, 4 assistants 2.4 million miles driven per year 15,400 students transported on a daily basis Participating districts Brighton, Hartland, Howell, Pinckney (which had been privatized)

Financial Benefit Initial estimated savings of $ million per year for four districts Projected savings (based on mid-year review) of $1.4 million per year Savings (across the consortium) represent 15% reduction in transportation costs. Savings compared with total budget of the four districts represents 0.72%.

Lessons Learned Process for adding nearly 200 hundred new employees is time consuming and can easily overwhelm the system (payroll, human resources, etc.). Customization for the unique needs of each district (based on board policy and parent expectation) is important, but not having a supervisor employed by the Agency makes some aspects of management inefficient. Collective bargaining (affiliated with Teamsters, but still no contract). Received many unemployment claims that had to be challenged.

Challenges and Opportunities Increasing retirement rate represents the most significant challenge to maintaining a competitive collaborative (possible pressure to privatize). Attracting and retaining a qualified pool of drivers and substitute drivers is an ongoing challenge. Opportunity for additional savings through routing and streamlining administrative services.