The Weatherly School Board listened to residents' concerns for over an hour before voting on a new transportation contract with Rohrer School Transportation Services.

The new contract will last for 10 years while changing the district's school schedule and saving taxpayers $345,918 in the first year alone, according to Superintendent and kindergarten through second-grade Principal Teresa Young.Young presented a slideshow during the highly attended meeting to illustrate the expenses of transportation on the district and how to save the area money.Young said almost all the costs from the Rohrer contract are eligible to be reimbursed by the state."Next year we have $12,394,465 in revenue, $13,388,492 in expenses, leaving a deficit of $993,963. If we continue to lose just $500,000 a year, in five years the district will not be able to meet payroll," she said.She told the audience there will be a 1.5 millage increase every year over the next four years to offset the cost."We have to do something now," she said.Young said 70 percent of the school's budget is paid out in salaries and benefits for the staff."How do we cut costs without reducing staff and cutting programs?" she said.Young said she looked to transportation for the upcoming year to help curb expenses for the district."With the new contract in place we can save $345,918 without cutting programs and increasing class sizes. I understand change is difficult. I'm proposing this, thinking about all the people in the community because this affects everyone," she said.Time, bus changeThe new contract will change the start and end times for the district's students. High school time will change slightly to 7:35 a.m. to 2:15 p.m., while elementary and middle school will start an hour later from 8:35 a.m. to 3:15 p.m."The student day and teacher day hours are exactly the same," she said."We are streamlining transportation. We won't have to waste time with staff baby-sitting before the school's start time. It will allow us to serve breakfast to the students in the morning. No bus route will be longer than 50 minutes," Young said."We have 21 runs now with few students and low miles. I'm putting more kids on the buses and more miles, that's why we can get reimbursed more from the state," she said.The previous contract had been with local business Vogel Bus Company, which had worked with the district for 60 years.Vogel consultant Jerry Strubinger questioned why Young and the board did not try to negotiate with the transportation companies already in place."A company that has been in business for 60 years is getting flushed down the drain," he said.Young told the consultant she had provided Vogel with all the same information given to other companies and Vogel did not reach out to the district in time."They would've been glad to work with you," he said."Be fair to the people in the district but also fair to Vogel. I think you should sit down with them before you award a contract," Strubinger said."Vogel had the same information. They did not give us the details, bus runs or any figures," board member Matthew vonFrisch said."It's more efficient. There are less runs and will reduce the number of buses from 21 to six runs and number of miles without students on the bus. We are eliminating double buses," he said.Concerns raisedParent and resident Christie Miner shared concerns about the new start and end times."A lot of us have set schedules. I don't want to leave my 7- and 8-year-old to get on a bus alone. I can't change my work schedule. My husband can't change his work time. I think it's unfair to not sit down with Vogel, who already works with the hours we are all comfortable with," she said."This whole situation's completely unfair. To award a 10-year contract to a company is my kid's whole school career. I can't lose my job, I can't afford to pay for a baby sitter in the morning for an hour," she said."One thing we are asking to do is adjust. You don't want to sacrifice the staff and programs. We need to adjust. Vogel had the chance to propose a contract. They didn't," vonFrisch said."We have had a lot of problems with older kids and elementary kids on the bus," vonFrisch said."We are not getting rid of programs, but if things don't change, we will have to," he said."Parents want to hear their kids are going to be safe and not packed like sardines on a bus," Miner said.Weatherly Borough Tax Collector and Vogel CPA Debi Kohler said, "Vogel Bus did have interest on bidding on contract. We were disappointed to read in the paper before receiving a letter about the change in contract with Vogel."James Dulcey, estate executor for the late Kenny Vogel, who passed away earlier this year, said the change in contracts was a political move more than a fiscal change."We pick up the paper and see the contract is canceled. No one ever called us in. We have transported half the kids for 60 years with no problems or accidents. The board has my cell number," he said."This is a monopoly. Mr. Vogel was a very honest person. His wishes were to finish out the contract. They didn't even wait 90 days after he was gone. Who are you going to call with problems, the golf course?" Dulcey said."You're racing the buses around, there's going to be a problem. I'm not saying the school district doesn't have to scale back, but why after all this time didn't anyone say anything? Now parents and kids have to suffer. That's going to put a real burden on all the parents and taxpayers," he said."After 60 years of being in business, Mr. Vogel is being thrown away," he said.The board voted 7-0 to award the 10-year contract to Rohrer School Transportation.Board Vice President Amy Potsko was not in attendance.