Saratoga District 60C will continue operating its own transportation service

The Saratoga Community Consolidated School District 60C announced Tuesday morning that it has decided not to dissolve and outsource the district’s transportation.

The district said in a Tuesday news release that it has heard from the community about how important keeping the region’s shared transportation in-house is to them, and the district will not move forward with the bidding process.

“We are working hard to find creative solutions that will enable our department to meet the ever-growing demand for transportation services across the three districts we serve,” the district said in the news release. “While these creative solutions may include working with third-party contractors for specialized transportation needs, substitutes to cover when staff are absent or filling short-term gaps caused by turnover, we would like to assure the community that there are no plans for contractors to replace our transportation staff.”

The district said it is investing in transportation staff by offering signing bonuses, weekly perfect attendance awards and increasing minimum-hour guarantees and pay rates.

The school board held preliminary discussions on whether it would outsource its transportation at both its August and September board meetings, but discussion was tabled before the board ultimately decided against taking any further steps.

Members of the board heard from many current and retired employees, as well as parent speaking out in favor of keeping the current transportation system in place.

Saratoga Elementary provides transportation services for both Morris Elementary and Morris High Schools.