Company takes over Bonduel school buses

Prompted by an incident in which wheels fell off a school bus carrying students, the Bonduel School District has privatized its transportation system in the middle of the school year.

School administrators signed a deal with Kobussen Buses Ltd. of Kaukauna to take over the fleet of school buses effective Feb. 27 and to handle all nine bus routes throughout the district.

Kobussen, which also serves the Oconto and Peshtigo school districts, will earn about $500,000 a year under a Bonduel contract scheduled to continue for five years.

District Administrator Patrick Rau said the deal represents a savings, because it spares taxpayers the cost of replacing the district’s aging fleet of buses, most of which were 15 to 20 years old.

Rau said officials are pleased with a smooth transition to Kobussen over the past several weeks, and they feel confident that the transportation system is in capable hands.

“I think it’s been good,” he said. “They have a wealth of knowledge and expertise to fall back on.”

Kobussen has been in business since the 1940s and currently serves 24 school districts, including New London, Little Chute and Neenah.

Oconto School District Superintendent Aaron Mulchaski said his district has contracted with Kobussen for several years and has been happy with the service.

Mulchaski said he enjoys “great peace of mind” knowing that students are receiving safe and reliable transportation for school days, athletic events, field trips and all other needs.

“They’ve been a wonderful partner for us,” he said of Kobussen.

Bonduel school officials had been conscious of their aging bus fleet and the need for future consideration of transportation issues when an incident on Oct. 27 gave the matter a heightened sense of urgency.

A bus carrying about 35 students to school suddenly lost two wheels in traffic while traveling on a state highway with a 55 mph speed limit. The driver was able to maneuver the disabled vehicle to a halt on the shoulder of the road, and no serious injuries were reported.

A state inspector later determined that the wheels fell off because of human error involving improper maintenance of the bus.

Rau said officials realized they needed to look at changes immediately because of the incident, coupled with the condition of the bus fleet and the recent loss of staff in the district’s transportation department. A newly hired department director had resigned after just a few months on the job.

“The time to do it was as soon as possible,” Rau said.

Calculating that the district would need to replace two buses annually at a cost of $85,000 each, officials determined that the district would invest $3.1 million over the next five years to continue operating its own bus system and to make the needed improvements. In contrast, contracting with Kobussen to take over the system for the same five-year period would cost $2.7 million, for a savings of about $400,000.

After examining similar proposals from three private companies, school board members agreed to sign a deal with Kobussen.

Kobussen immediately retired Bonduel’s oldest buses, replaced them with better Kobussen vehicles, and brought in its own maintenance staff. The existing crew of bus drivers will remain school district employees for now, but they will switch over and became Kobussen employees when the new school year begins in the fall.

Dan Kobussen, vice president of the company, called it atypical to assume responsibility for a bus system in the middle of a school year.

Kobussen added, however, that the circumstances allowed his company to move seamlessly into a system that has routes already in place and has drivers already trained and accustomed to their routes. The change has been relatively effortless and has offered students and others consistency, he said.

“I think it’s been a pretty smooth transition,” he said. “It’s a little unusual, but everything’s gone really smooth.”