"Does item four exist?" asked Gary Community Schools Corp. board member Rosie Washington.
"Yes, thank God," replied Superintendent Cheryl Pruitt.
And so, the school district finally approved the bus contract with Illinois Central for the upcoming school year at a special meeting on Wednesday — after more than a month of wrangling with the company over financial details and service guarantees.
"I believe we finally have one; let's see if we can live with it," Washington said.
Under the final agreement, the school district will pay $4.2 million based on 40 buses operating on a three-tiered system in the morning and afternoon, for a total of 120 round trips daily. If the number of buses needed increases or decreases, the district will be charged or credited an additional fee, but it must be agreed to in writing. The extension goes through Aug. 1, 2017.
Last year, about 3,800 students used the district's bus service.
The extension represents a 13 percent reduction from the previous school year, while a previous offer presented to the board in June included a 3 percent increase and required payment upfront. The meeting was tabled, discussed and taken off the agenda of multiple meetings before Wednesday.
The district will be billed for the service in two installments — in January and July 2017 — scheduled after the district receives its property tax dispersals. Pruitt said property tax dispersals — expected to be around $5.2 million — typically arrive in December and May. Between 2009 and 2014, the district's transportation fund lost more than $34 million because of uncollected taxes and property tax caps.
The financially beleaguered district still owes payments from bus service in April, May and June 2016. Those payments are due on the 15th of each month starting in August. The first payment will be offset by a $90,000 credit to the district to settle any previous damage claims. Pruitt said an additional $50,000 credit could come the district's way, though it is not mentioned in the addendum.
Pruitt said Illinois Central CFO Patrick Earley was very cooperative at accommodating the district's concerns.
Pruitt said this extension is only for one year, so the district will release a Request for Qualifications in early fall for potential bus service for the 2017-2018 school year.