CHERRY TWP — After four months of seeking proposals from bus companies, board directors at Moniteau School District approved a transportation agreement with ABC Transit that could see current employees kept on as drivers.
Selecting a firm was not a decision board directors took lightly, and the district reviewed seven proposals from bus companies, president Michael Panza said during a school board meeting Monday, March 25.
The decision to switch bus companies comes after Slippery Rock-based Campbell Bus Lines, which has worked with the district for 54 years, announced in November 2023 it would exit its three-year contract with the district.
Employees of Campbell Bus Lines said the decision was due to driver shortages.
“This district has been blessed that we have been able to work with the Campbell Bus Company for more than 50 years,” Panza said.
During the meeting, executive vice president of ABC Transit,Todd O’Shell, addressed the board.
ABC Transit has been in business for nearly 11 years, he said, and serves 11 school districts across Butler, Allegheny and Beaver counties, including Seneca Valley School District. He said the transition would be “friendly,” noting that he knows the owners.
“If you so choose to approve (the agreement) tonight, we’ll be looking to bring on the people that are your current drivers and enhance their position with the school district as bus drivers, whether it be monetarily, whether it be giving them more attention,” he said. “We want to fill every position, so we don’t have to worry about anything as far as the driver shortage, even though it’s a nationwide problem.”
O’Shell said the company would host a meeting in the school district, with a date and time to be announced, for current drivers and interested community members to discuss monetary compensation, recruitment and details regarding the transition.
“It’ll be an opportunity for them to get to know us and for us to get to know them,” O’Shell said after the meeting.
O’Shell shared he hoped to retain as many employees as possible.
“Most school bus drivers that we have that we find in certain districts, they want to stay in that district,” he said after the meeting. “They’re Moniteau Warriors ... they want to stay here. Our goal is to retain as many drivers as possible so we can fill the seats throughout the school district.”
When asked about wages, O’Shell said the company would be “very competitive in the pay in this area.”
Bryan West, 63, who has worked as a bus driver with Campbell Bus Lines for 30 years, was also present at the meeting.
“I liked the job I had,” he said after the meeting. “I don’t want it to end.”
After the meeting, West also expressed concern about salaries and how the job change would affect his 401(k) as he nears retirement.
When asked whether he would attend ABC Transit’s meeting to learn more about the details of the transition, he said he would consider doing so.
“I have to see what they’ll say and what they’ll do,” West said.
Campbell Bus will continue to work with the district until the end of June. ABC Transit’s five-year contract is effective beginning next school year, superintendent Aubrie Schnelle said.
