Bus company, District 300 agree to contract extension

The Du Quoin school board has extended the contract with its bus company for one year, with the caveat the board can add bus routes if it decides they are necessary.

The extended contract is with Durham School Services and will cover July 1, 2020 to June 30, 2021.

Cory Robbins, District 300 business manager, said the extension will come with a 6% increase to the school district, which he said will involve a raise for the bus drivers.

Robbins said there is a bus driver shortage in Illinois, which is particularly acute in southern Illinois. More than that, he said, Du Quoin's current drivers know the routes and "know our kids."

"We're very fortunate," he added.

Durham School Services is headquartered in suburban Chicago but Du Quoin has a local bus company supervisor and a local mechanic, Rooney said, which ideally means that buses are repaired and back on the road faster than if they had to be sent out of town.

The local manager is Tracy Taylor, who previously worked for District 300.

Board member Crystal Harsy said she was concerned that District 300 has cut too many bus routes and she had heard that kids are barely making it to school on time.

School principals Diana Rea and Tim McChristian said the students are arriving on time, but that after-school routes from the elementary school can take up to an hour to get all the students to their destinations.

Rooney told board members that if they get complaints from parents to let him know, and that the agreement allows District 300 to add routes.