COEUR d'ALENE - Privatization of its transportation department could potentially save the Coeur d'Alene School District $1.1 million annually.

Wendell Wardell, the district's chief operating officer, presented the projected savings to the school board during a budget workshop Monday at the Midtown Center.

Trustees directed Wardell to move forward and request bid proposals from private busing companies before the trustees make a final decision on privatization.

"It's with a heavy heart and a lot of concern, but I don't think that's a number you can ignore," Board of Trustees Chairman Tom Hamilton said.

The request for proposal process would firm up the potential savings and provide the structure of a possible contract.

Hamilton said he wants to move slowly toward making any decision.

"I'm not ready, at this point, to say let's prioritize," Hamilton said.

The school district now runs its own transportation service with drivers who are district employees.

The consideration of possible privatization comes as the trustees move toward setting the amount of a maintenance and operations levy they will float before voters in March. At the same time, the district faces a budget shortfall of up to $3 million, from the loss of one-time federal stimulus dollars.

In doing his transportation analysis, Wardell said he spoke at length with the Spokane School District's transportation staff. That district's student transportation service has been handled privately for several decades. Durham School Services, the company used by Spokane, and First Student, were used as resources for Wardell's analysis.

More than half of the savings Wardell expects to come from privatization would be realized because the district will no longer be paying benefits to the transportation department staff, including 66 bus drivers and substitutes.

Wardell said the private bus companies' preferred pool of potential employees would be the district's current transportation staff. He said the private contractors indicated they usually hire 90 percent of a district's drivers at the initial pay rate specified by the district.

The drivers' benefits package through the private company would not be as rich as those paid by the district, but Wardell said they do offer good benefits, including health and 401K.

"How many of our drivers might choose not to go to work for a private company?" asked Trustee Jim Hightower.

The drivers aren't paid high salaries, he said, so many of them are there for the benefits.

"They will be offered jobs," Wardell said.

The remainder of the estimated financial benefit of privatization would be capital savings, realized because the school district would not have to purchase six new buses per year, a requirement if the district is to take full advantage of the state's educational transportation funding program. Under that plan, districts receive reimbursement for school bus depreciation, provided the buses are maintained on a 12-year schedule. There are 28 buses in the Coeur d'Alene district's fleet of 61 buses that are not on the schedule at this time.

Hightower asked about the private companies' safety records.

"They have as good a safety record as we do," Wardell said.

Bob Schneiter, a four-year school bus driver in Coeur d'Alene, told The Press following the meeting that there is a lot of angst about this at the district's bus barn.

Most of the drivers have been there at least 10 years, many much longer, he said.

They stay because they love the work environment, Schneiter said, and are fearful that will change under private management.

"It is true that benefits are the reason most people are driving buses. The majority of the drivers are retired, but I think the drivers would be willing to negotiate with the district if it meant not going to contract busing," Schneiter said.

He said the Coeur d'Alene drivers received an email from a Spokane bus driver who said the turnover there is high and there is an adversarial relationship between the bus drivers and management.

"If they want their levy to pass, we are their front line good will ambassadors, but if they go to contract busing, they will have some terribly disgruntled drivers and many who don't really need to work who will opt to quit," Schneiter said. "That number is much larger than the school board is envisioning. I can't imagine where they will come up with the drivers to replace them, especially with the wages that are paid."