Macomb School District 185 has been running its own transportation system for about six months now.
Superintendent Patrick Twomey believes the change has worked out well, and he said it’s helping build community pride.
“Now, for the first time, the community sees buses going up and down Jackson Street with our name on it, not Durham’s name,” he said. “They’re new buses. They’re kept clean. They look nice.”
The school board voted in March to bring the bus system back in-house after 30 years of contracting out the service. The most recent provider was Durham School Services.
Twomey said the district has done a good job of making sure the buses get students to school and back home on-time.
He also said it’s helpful to have one team working on transportation instead of having two separate entities involved.
“It’s like bringing on a whole new division of people into our school family, meaning the drivers and the dispatchers and the mechanics,” he said.
Twomey said they’re valuable to the district, and he’ll be working to retain them.
He also said the district will keep working to improve communication between drivers and school building administrators.
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