ROANOKE, Va. – Roanoke City Public School has its eyes on a new transportation provider.
On Tuesday night, division leaders announced that they could be parting ways with Durham School Services at the end of the school year, and are in the process of finalizing a contract with Zum.
Chief Operations Officer Chris Perkins told school board members that the finalization of the contract is nearing completion, with an update expected to arrive soon. The current focus is timeliness, cost efficiency, adaptability and environmental sustainability.
“our negotiation is prioritizing the following key considerations, first the quality of service. We remain committed to providing safe, dependable and efficent transportation to our students,” said Perkins.
The announcement follows years of transportation woes and parent frustration with the school division’s current transportation provider. As we’ve reported previously, some students weren’t able to make it to school in time in the fall, with some hours late, due to issues with bus routes and driver shortages.
Board members are hopeful that a new provider could bring forth positive change.
“It’s been a big issue for us for a long time and we are very hopeful or optimistic,” said school board member, Mark Cathey.
To get the community’s input, a new transportation survey is available for parents and/or guardians to provide their input on transportation services for Roanoke City students.
It will address transportation schedules, middle and high school routes, after-school care, walking zones, out-of-attendance zone transportation and behavior on school buses.
The survey also asks questions about thoughts on cell phone usage in schools.
The survey is open until Feb. 27.
