By Liz Lape
PEKIN, Ill. (25 News) – An agreement that would hand over management of Pekin school buses was tabled by the city council on Feb. 9, as council members want the terms of the proposed agreement renegotiated with the high school district.
At the recent city council meeting, an agreement was proposed to allow Pekin Community High School District to continue using the current bus facility at 1130 Koch Street until they build or find a new one. The bus agreement between Pekin school districts and the city ends on June 30th.
According to 25 News, Pekin Economic Development Director Josh Wray said the city does not want to manage the buses anymore, adding it is not a common duty of a municipality. He said Pekin is the only city in Illinois to manage its school districts’ bus system.
“A few decades ago, the city had a public transit system and somehow ended up with the schools’ [buses,]” he said. “Since then, we’ve gotten rid of any public transit that we once had, so we’re just trying to focus on the core things that the city should be doing. We don’t deal with students in any other way; the schools do. We just feel they’re better suited to deal with it in the long run.”
Wray said the high school district would pay around $95,000 to house the buses in the current facility, on top of maintenance costs. He said it is something the district already pays the city to do.
Wray also said the proposed agreement would save the city a significant amount of money.
“Over the summer and over winter breaks, bus drivers who work for school districts, just like teachers, do not get unemployment over those periods of time because they have a job when they come back from break,” he said. “The city does not fall under that statute, so we do have to pay. It’s over $100,000 a year toward unemployment.”
Wray and Council Member Jake Fletcher said that the city is not expecting to make money off the deal, but they will still need to require charges for maintenance fees.
“I don’t think the city should make money on this deal, but we shouldn’t lose money either,” Fletcher said.
The cost of mechanics would be $60 an hour, and fuel costs would vary, costing the district the current cost of fuel with an added 5%.
Council members are expected to vote on the proposed agreement at the Feb. 23 meeting.
Comments