Spokane Public Schools approves $32 million purchase of a new fleet of school buses

Spokane Public Schools is buying its own buses as it moves toward operating its own fleet.

The school board on Wednesday approved the purchase of 149 diesel buses for $32.4 million, paid for by the state Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction.

The district has had a contract with California-based Zūm services to bus some 4,800 kids to and from school since the 2023-2024 school year. That contract expires in 2028, costing the district $71.8 million. Since the 1970s, the district has contracted with an outside provider for school bus services.

“The district has for decades utilized a contract service provider for transportation for students to and from school, rationale being the most cost-efficient model for the school district to provide that service,” Superintendent Adam Swinyard said. “Due to inflation and statutory changes at the state level on how public employees are to be compensated, a contract service provider model is no longer the most cost-efficient method for us to utilize.”

A consultant at the Nov. 20 school board meeting told the board it would be beneficial for the district to have its own bus fleet, eyeing flexibility and a new state law that would increase school district costs if they continued outsourcing with Zūm.

The law requires bus contractors such as Zūm to provide benefits to its drivers and other workers more in line with other school district employees. The state also now requires school districts to prove they are getting a better deal by contracting with an outside provider rather than having their own fleets.

The Mead, Central Valley and most other area school districts operate their own bus fleets.

It is unclear what other costs will arise in the district’s transition to own its own fleet. The district is “in the process of developing the budget” for expenses like employee pay and benefits, bus maintenance and infrastructure changes, district spokesperson Sandra Jarrard wrote in an email.

Jarrard noted the fleet would include “your typical yellow bus,” and the district “will provide consistent service, this includes technology,” in reference to a feature that allows parents to track when their student boards and gets off the bus.

Jarrad declined to elaborate on specifics about the costs to the district.