KINGSLEY — Dave Kirsch hopes to continue driving Kingsley children to school, but to do so, he'll have to apply to Traverse City Area Public Schools.
The longtime Kingsley Area Schools bus driver and union steward for the district's transportation workers is one of 20 district employees laid off after the board of education voted to outsource transportation and custodial services.
The board voted this week to contract with Traverse City Area Public Schools for transportation services, saving the district approximately $125,000 annually. Kingsley's 13 bus drivers are eligible to apply for jobs with TCAPS, but they face the prospect of lower pay and reduced benefits.
"There's a job there if you want it, but it's going to take a lot of cooperation with TCAPS and the remaining drivers to make the transition work," he said. "The money isn't there, but then again, it's not like we're being put out on the street. Is the transition good? No, but it could be worse."
Kingsley requested outside bids to provide transportation, custodial and food services beginning in the fall to cut costs amid a pending $585,000 budget deficit.
TCAPS won the transportation contract, and CSM Services, of Hudsonville, will provide custodial services, saving Kingsley approximately $90,000 a year.
Kingsley also received bids to privatize food services, but the board has not yet voted.
"For myself and the school board, for everyone, it's just a terrible thing to have to go through," said Kingsley Superintendent Keith Smith. "It's unfortunate the state put us in the position we are in."
Smith said state funding cuts in recent years forced the district to look for other options to save money. With the outsourcing, a slight funding increase and potential for additional one-time funding, the district will "come close to being balanced for next year," Smith said.
Any difference will be paid for out of the fund balance, which at its highest point reaches $4 million. The total budget is more than $11 million.
Kirsch said that fund balance is more than enough to keep jobs in Kingsley, and he said the community is upset that longtime employees are losing their jobs.
"A lot of those laid off, they've given everything to that job," he said. "They're members of the community; they spend money here, they send their kids to school here, they invest in the community's future, and that's been taken away."
Region
Kingsley schools outsource busing, custodial services
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