Rochester City School District and Regional Transit Service have come to an agreement that will end their ongoing contract dispute, at least for the summer.
RCSD has agreed to pay the bus company an additional $350,000 to ship students during the summer months. The district says they will lobby state government for those additional funds. Over 90% of kids will be on express buses, bypassing the Transit Center and, officials say, hopefully avoiding any more violent incidents there.
RTS CEO Bill Carpenter says they were able to work out this deal partly because busing summer students is less complicated.
"For the summer you don't have the activities passes. A summer program is done there's no baseball team to go play on, there's no drama club, so we'll be able to get the students home safely."
But it's unclear whether this partnership will continue into the next school year. When Carpenter announced they would end their contract with RCSD only weeks ago, he said the company wouldn't be able to provide the customized routes needed to keep students away from the Transit Center.
Carpenter and Superintendent Vargas say they are working on an agreement for next semester, but they're not sure exactly what that agreement be.
Carpenter says this plan means the company will not have to lay off any drivers.
