BUTLER TWP — The Butler School Board at its meeting Monday will hear the findings of an independent analysis of its busing contractor.

Officials claim the contractor, Valley Lines, has violated several provisions of its contract in recent years.

“We are reviewing any time the contract has been breached and we are considering what action we will take,” school board President Nina Teff said.

Based on the findings presented Monday, the district could impose a loss of pay on the contractor, district solicitor Tom King said.

The board could also potentially choose to terminate the contract, Teff said.

King said that, per the contract, the district is the “sole determiner” on whether the contractor is abiding by the agreed-upon terms.

The current contract runs from July 2015 through the end of June 2020.

Valley Lines came under scrutiny last year after a school bus carrying elementary students was in a crash on Bonniebrook Road in Summit Township that left four students and a driver with minor injuries.

After the accident, school officials learned that the bus that crashed was a 2004 model, which was a violation of the contract, which requires all buses on the road to be no more than 10 years old.

That contract provision is for the safety of the students, but the age of the buses is also a key factor in a state formula for transportation reimbursement. By having older buses on the road, the district would get less reimbursement than it had planned for, Teff said.

Officials then did an audit of buses and discovered that 21 buses were out of compliance. Valley Lines as of early December told the district that it had taken those buses out of service to reach full compliance.

At its December meeting, the board approved a contract of up to $650 with the Armstrong Indiana Intermediate Unit. Intermediate Unit staff members who specialize in transportation issues were to analyze any possible contract violations and give a report to the board. Greg Coy will give the presentation Monday.

Butler buses have been involved in several other minor accidents this school year. The most recent accident, when a bus hit a tree stump on Eyth Road in Oakland Township on March 2, was attributed to driver error. The bus involved in that accident was in compliance, though the district asked the contractor to no longer have that driver on any of its routes, acting Superintendent William Pettigrew said.

The board, in an executive session during its committee of the whole meeting Feb. 27, heard preliminary findings of the unfinished investigation.

Teff said the district is taking a serious look at transportation issues to ensure the safety of the students.

“They are entrusted to the district’s care, and that includes when they were on school premises and when they are on the bus,” she said.

The meeting will be held at 7:30 p.m. in the Harriger Educational Services Center, 110 Campus Lane.