District locks in a 5-year bus contract after a year without reliable service

What happened

In July 2025 the board rejected the only bus bid it received — $310,000 a year for both routes, nearly double the district's $175,000 transportation budget — leaving Haines without a contracted bus company days before school started. A one-year lease from Haines Development covered 2025-26 as a stopgap. On April 7, 2026 the board picked First Student through a formal bid process, and by June 2026 signed a 5-year contract combining the highway and Mud Bay/town routes into one run, with the district paying fuel directly and costs rising a scheduled 3% a year.

Why it matters to families

Reliable transportation determines whether students can get to school at all, especially on the Mud Bay/Small Tracts route outside town. The gap forced the district to raise the reimbursement rate it pays families who drive their own kids, and left routes without a signed contractor for weeks in August 2025. A 5-year deal gives families a predictable service for the first time since the crisis began.

The evidence

The July 8, 2025 minutes (attached to the August 5, 2025 packet) record the board voting down the $310,000 bid on a roll-call vote as over budget; the August 12, 2025 minutes record the one-year Haines Development lease; the April 7, 2026 minutes record the vote naming First Student; and the June 2, 2026 packet contains the finalized 5-year contract terms — a 3% annual increase, one combined route, and direct district payment of fuel.

The source