BUTLER TWP — The Butler School Board this week is set to decide how it will handle the situation with its busing contractor.

The board will hold a special meeting at 6:30 p.m. Thursday in the Harriger Educational Services Center to address its contract with Valley Lines.

Greg Coy and Joshua Muscatello of ARIN (Armstrong Indiana) Intermediate Unit 28 on March 13 reported to the board that Valley Lines has had 109 buses on the road since 2008 that were in violation of the contract, which stipulates that buses used to transport Butler students must be no more than 10 years old.

These violations cost the district $65,604 in lost state reimbursement, according to the report.

Using a formula specified in the contract, the district could assess a penalty of $1.93 million for the violations. The board could also pursue the possibility of voiding the contract.

At the board’s March 20 meeting, board President Nina Teff said that Acting Superintendent William Pettigrew was doing research on the availability of other busing contractors.

William Clepper, CEO of Valley Lines, said he hopes his company and the district can work together to resolve the problems.

The company, which is based in South Buffalo Township, Armstrong County, has been the district’s busing contractor since 2004. The company employs about 175 drivers and uses 120 buses for the district.

Clepper, in an interview, said that the company had never had any major accident or issues before this year.

The ages of the company’s buses first came under scrutiny in September 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 being notified by district officials of violations, Valley Lines made efforts to get into compliance in December, Clepper said.

“I’ve been more than fair. There was a misunderstanding with the wording,” he said about the contract.

In a letter to district officials dated March 16, Clepper stated that he will honor the findings of the independent report and offered to have the $65,604 in lost subsidies deducted from the company’s monthly payments.

In the letter, Clepper outlined measures the company will take to reestablish a positive relationship and stay in compliance in the future.

This included sending the district a vehicle fleet list on a monthly basis to ensure the company is in compliance. It also included making an “out of service vehicle report” for buses taken off their assigned routes for more than five days and having monthly meetings with district administrators.

The company also intends to upgrade the camera systems in all of its buses at its own cost. This would include installing three high-definition cameras in each bus, one of which would provide an outside frontal view.

“This will provide clarity for the district on many ‘unknown’ issues that may occur, including driver performance and accident responsibility,” the letter stated.