Earlier today, the Northville school board told Northville Patch about its decision to privatize the district's school bus system. Tonight, details were released about the agreement with Durham School Systems, which will take over bus services in the fall.

The district also announced tonight that its next step will be seeking bids for food and custodial services.

The decision to contract with Durham is expected to save the district $425,000 annually, according to the press release. This year, the district grappled with a projected $5 million deficit. The board's consideration of bus privatization drew criticism at its last meeting, held earlier this week. The agreement with Durham follows the Teamsters 214's rejection of the school board's counterproposal.

Some of the highlights from the three-year agreement with the private company, Durham, include:

• The company will give hiring preference to the Northville Public Schools transportation workers who will be laid off 
• Durham will pay current transportation wages to any district worker hired by the company and new hires will be paid on a "competitive part-time wage scale"
• The company will provide an employee-only health insurance plan with a 100 percent company paid contribution for part-time employees working at least 20 hours per week
• "Durham School Services will hire, train and manage all transportation personnel including supervisors, drivers, aides and mechanics and will oversee bus maintenance and repair along with providing bus routing software and Global Positioning System (GPS) tracking"
• The company will provide a "safety program with pre-service and regular in-service employee training, including working in partnership with the district’s Special Services staff"
• The district will retain bus ownership
• The company will be expected to require drivers and aides to be fingerprinted for criminal background checks and employees must have current medical releases

In a press release, board president Joan Wadsworth said, “We are mindful of how difficult the budget reductions implemented over the past several years have been for our employees, students and families."

She added, “During these challenging economic times our goal is to give careful consideration to cost savings measures that ensure the safety of our students and that protect, to the extent possible, the outstanding learning opportunities we offer our students.”

Superintendent Mary Kay Gallagher, whose position began at the beginning of the month, showed support for the board's decision.

“We are confident that through this arrangement with Durham School Services, Northville Public Schools will be able to offer quality transportation services for our students and families. In addition, district officials, through our Operations Department, will continue to play an ongoing, active role in overseeing the district’s transportation program," she said in the release.

Chief steward of the union Dan Chisolm could not be reached for comment Thursday evening.

The next regular school board meeting is set for August 9 at 7:30 p.m. at Old Village School.

See Northville Patch Friday for more reaction to the board's decision.