Butler schools to change transportation provider next year
BUTLER TWP — Butler Area School District is changing its transportation next school year.
A.J. Myers & Sons will be the district’s transportation contractor next school year, after the school board voted Thursday morning, Oct. 3, to enter into an agreement with the company.
The district’s superintendent, Brian White, said the school board had the special meeting Thursday so the board members could review and vote on the agreement as soon as possible. The company will need to purchase more buses to handle the district’s students, and White said it will take the better part of a year for A.J. Myers & Sons to get enough.
According to a statement prepared by White, the company’s fleet will feature newer vehicles equipped with modern amenities, and A.J. Myers also offers more competitive pay rates for drivers, which could attract and retain drivers.
The district, White said, has struggled to maintain adequate staffing of bus drivers for the past few years — an issue he has said faces many school districts in Pennsylvania.
White also said the company plans to offer jobs to the school district’s current transportation contractor, Valley Lines, for next school year.
According to the agreement, Butler school district will pay Myers on a monthly basis beginning in September 2025 an amount equal to 10% of the annual contract price for the in-district mainline vehicles for that school year.
“All the proposals cost more than our current cost … but this proposal you sum everything together was the least costly we could review,” White said. “Part of this contract agreement with A.J. Myers is they are offering every driver at Valley Lines a job to work with them and remain in the district.”
White said Valley Lines would be officially informed of the change Thursday. The district also was sending an email to families and bus drivers within the district.
