EPSB votes to not pay First Student bus drivers

The main discussion of Wednesday’s meeting of the Evangeline Parish School Board was concerning upholding a contract and the payment of bus drivers.
A conflict seems to be developing between the school board and First Student transportation service. School board members believe they are on a monthly contract, but First Student believes the contract is for 180 days, and 50 of those days have been missed because of COVID-19.
The school board has its own bus drivers who are paid for by the board, but these drivers have been grandfathered in as the board moves to contract solely with First Student. At issue was whether or not to uphold a contract with First Student, which would help cover the company’s operational costs and pay their bus drivers while the schools are still closed due to COVID-19.
Board member Peggy Forman asked Tony Vidrine, Regional Vice President of First Student, why a company of their size does not have some type of protection for their employees in a case like this.
Vidrine responded, saying they did everything they could to secure funding, but because of their size, they do not qualify for small business loans and other sources of funding. He said bus drivers could file for unemployment and they are not preventing them from doing so. Since they are a private company, they qualify for unemployment insurance. “All of our employees are able to file for unemployment, so they will make a lot more that way.” He said First Student paid their employees through the state closure.
Following the meeting, board member Arthur Savoy released the following statement: “I am the chairman of the transportation committee. When this started, and First Student asked us to pay the bus drivers, it never came to the committee. When I found out about it, I went see Hubert Mabe, who is the supervisor of First Student, and asked why they didn’t apply for FEMA money or PPP (Paycheck Protection Plan). So, I asked why don’t they lay off the bus drivers to allow them to make decent money drawing unemployment, and he told me they weren’t going to lay them off. I want the people to know it’s not our bus drivers. They are First Student drivers. The money they want us to use is tax payers’ money. I want to save that for our children, our teachers, and everybody else who works for us.”
When asked about Savoy’s comments, Vidrine said, “At the local level, the supervisors don’t know what the company is applying for. It’s more of a question for me, being a regional vice president.” He also said the school board’s contract with First Student is for 180 days. About 50 of those days were missed because of COVID-19. He said all of the operational costs are rolled into the 180-day period. The school board leases the buses, but Vidrine said they haven’t paid First Student since the middle of March, when Governor John Bel Edwards shut down the schools. Edwards has since issued a proclamation that schools are to be shut through the end of the school year. “We offered the school board a 12.75% discount on what they are contractually required to pay,” said Vidrine. “We pulled money out of our profit and maintenance costs to cover everything. We’re not looking to make money. We’re looking to pay people.”
School board member Mike Fontenot made the point the district budget and funding is not being cut and said they are able to pay the contractors. The CARES Act allows schools to collect funding and lets them pay their contractors, which includes food services and any other contracted services. It says school districts are mandated to pay their contractors to qualify for this funding.
Some transportation companies claim the CARES Act requires full or nearly full payment from school districts, even if no transportation services are provided during school closures. The language in the CARES Act appears to require districts that receive funds under the Education Stabilization Fund of the CARES Act to continue to pay their employees and contractors, “to the greatest extent practicable,” despite any disruptions or closures related to COVID-19.
The conundrum comes from the line, “greatest extent practicable.” Whether or not that can be used to mean transportations services remains to be seen, as the CARES Act clearly states the additional funding is to be used infrastructure, remote learning, and cleaning and sanitation purposes.
When asked about Vidrine’s comments, Savoy said the board pays First Student on a monthly basis, not a 180-day period. “When we shut down March 13, they got their last check. We pay the gas and mileage and they pay their drivers on a monthly basis. I’m a department of transportation chairman. When they’re running during school, we give them $20,000 a day. After the shut-down, they wanted to get at least $18,000 a day. We don’t need to pay the secretary and the mechanics and the supervisor. We said we’d consider helping the bus drivers. They wanted us to pay everybody. We’re going to take that little extra money we’re saving and apply it to the classrooms.”
The board voted eight to four against continuing to pay First Student amid school shut-down.
In other business, the board recognized Evangeline Parish District winners for Teacher of the Year: Megan Velek (elementary division) and Renee Gotreaux (high school division).