ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½

ST. LOUIS — This is supposed to be the year when the transportation crisis finally ends for ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Public Schools.

A longstanding driver shortage culminated last year with a chaotic mix of vehicles including crowded minivans and illegal buses that led to delayed or canceled routes for most students.

The district’s operations chief Square Watson told the SLPS school board in February that “99% of the concerns (would be) mitigated or resolved through the hiring of a new bus transportation vendor for the 2025-2026 school year.�

The board gave California-based Zum Services Inc. a $30 million contract to service 220 bus routes starting next month. Zum offered a modern solution with tracking software, well-paid drivers and a fleet of air-conditioned buses.

“Zum will be ready and is looking forward to the first day of school on Aug. 18,� spokeswoman Jen Burke said Tuesday. “We have been working hand in hand with the district to prepare for the beginning of the school year.�

The company still has dozens of buses to deliver and drivers to hire, all while dealing with the aftermath of the May 16 tornado that displaced thousands of students, damaged school buildings, and scrambled bus routes.

Leaders at SLPS, including Watson and Superintendent Millicent Borishade, have not responded to questions from the Post-Dispatch about transportation.

The president of the teachers union said he is scared of losing more students to transportation failures in the city where enrollment has already been trending downward for decades.

“My biggest concern is I don’t think we know where all the kids are,� said Ray Cummings of American Federation of Teachers Local 420. “Don’t get me wrong, there are always problems with buses at the beginning of the year, but I’m just not sure about bringing in this company right now.�

Watson said the district has been working with Zum to prevent initial “hiccups� the company experienced in other markets including Kansas City Public Schools. The transportation plan involves four key areas — buses, drivers, routes and a depot.

Buses

The contract calls for 240 Zum buses to cover 220 routes with 20 spares. Schedules from Zum and SLPS said the buses would be delivered weekly between May and July, with the “large bulk� arriving July 12 followed by the remaining 20 to 26 buses.

While there has been no sighting of a fleet, a few Zum buses have been spotted driving around south ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ and on the blacktop at a middle school.

Burke said that the company’s buses for SLPS “have started to arrive and will continue through July and August.�

In 2023, Zum had to secure a ““ for a school district in San Bernardino, California, when 150 buses were delayed at the start of school.

Drivers

Zum plans to employ 240 drivers and more than 50 bus attendants. Burke would not reveal how many have been hired but said, “We are well on our way to meeting that goal.�

About 90 drivers and attendants have made the switch to Zum from First Student, the previous bus vendor for SLPS, according to a field representative with the Laborers’ International Union of North America Local 773.

If more than half of Zum’s transportation workers are represented by the union, the company would be pressed to open negotiations for a contract, said Rek Woods of Local 773.

“It’s just a matter of getting all the facts and details from Zum so that we’ll know where we stand from an organizing standpoint,� Woods said. “I believe we will be able to negotiate a contract because the drivers appreciate being part of a union.�

Zum has run into trouble with bus driver unions in other districts including Seattle Public Schools, the former employer of ousted SLPS Superintendent Keisha Scarlett who was fired last year for financial mismanagement.

Zum drivers and mechanics in Seattle represented by the Teamsters in spring 2023 before agreeing to a contract with the school district.

In fall 2023, Zum was hired to run 230 routes in the Howard County, Maryland school district. By the first day of school, Zum had to fly in 70 out-of-state drivers to cover the routes. The company met its hiring goal a month after classes started.

The Howard County school bus drivers to join their local Teamsters union.

“With an overwhelming yes vote, Zum transportation workers have sent a resounding message to their employer that they will no longer be treated with disrespect and offered the bare minimum,� Sean Cedenio, the union’s secretary-treasurer, said in a statement.

Routing

The bus routing matrix for SLPS has been complicated for decades by a magnet system that allows students to catch a bus to specialized schools anywhere in the city. As a result, some bus routes carry less than a handful of children to school.

For the past few years, about 20 routes were canceled daily because of a shortage of drivers, while the chronic absenteeism rate climbed to more than half of all students.

Watson of SLPS told the school board on May 13 that bus routes had been finalized by the district’s transportation team. Families were given their bus stop locations, but not the pickup or drop-off schedules. The tornado struck three days later.

Now, at least 2,000 students have been displaced from their homes or schools in north ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½. Seven schools will not reopen for the fall semester, and students and staff will transfer to other buildings.

Students who previously walked to their tornado-damaged schools will be picked up at those schools and taken by bus to the transfer schools. The district will be charged a field trip fee for the additional routes, Watson said.

Burke of Zum said the company is in “ongoing discussions� with SLPS about new routes caused by the tornado.

Bus yard

A presentation to the school board in February said Zum secured a depot in ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ that was “strategically located with 8+ acres, capacity for 250+ buses, including ample storage for buses, offices, employee lounge, training and maintenance facilities.â€�

In May, another board presentation said Zum would lease two facilities that month at the “Spring Ave.� location with yard modifications starting in June and building modifications in July.

Burke said the company is “currently finalizing the depot lease now� but did not give a location.

So far, nine Zum buses are stationed on the blacktop at Stevens Middle School in the Vandeventer neighborhood of north ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½. The school, which has been vacant for a year, will need the parking area next month to host Sumner High School, which was damaged in the tornado.