Right now the South Bend School Corporation runs it's own buses, but there's currently a vacancy in the transportation director position. In August, an interim was hired to fill the position for six months. When that term is over the board will have to make some decisions.
Superintendent Dr. Carole Schmidt says one option is, "to put out a request for some proposals to a firm that would come in and manage the transportation operation."
Dr. Schmidt says the other option is to hire a new director. This was just the first discussion.
"I would hope that in the next couple months that we would have proposals on the table to look at, which would give us a lot of information as to what a management firm could bring to the table," says board president, Roger Parent.
Hiring a management firm could bring some changes, which some parents are open to.
"If, you know, they can guarantee it would be better than the current system," says parent Stacey Norman.
Another big discussion at tonight's meeting? New ways to keep parents informed.
The school system is hosting a series of special discussion meetings to allow the public to be included.
Schmidt says it's vital for the public to be in the know, "It's important to know because we are functioning with public money. Plus the contribution we make to this community is huge, economically and to the future."
Parents we spoke with agreed.
"We feel it's very, very important for parents to be involved. It's an essential ingredient in the education of the kids," says parent, Cathy Hall.
"I don't want to be too critical of South Bend Schools because this is what we have, but there needs to be a lot of changes," says Norman.
The series of special meetings to create more openness will include discussions on everything from the budget to food services.
The next meeting is on September 19th.
