STE. GENEVIEVE – The Ste. Genevieve School District R-II has decided to purchase the existing Fallert Bus Company and operate it as its own school bus system.
According to a notification to the district’s parents which was posted on Facebook, the R-II Board of Education approved the district entering into a contract to purchase the bus fleet, property and Bus Barn from Fallert Bus Service, and incorporate transportation into existing district operations.
This approval was made at the Board’s regular meeting on Tuesday, May 21.
According to the minutes of the meeting:
Motion to grant the superintendent authorization to develop, negotiate and complete contracts with Fallert Bus Service Inc. and the Shirley A. Meyer Trust, for the purposes of purchasing the property, including the land, bus fleet, building, contents and radio tower. Motion by Joshua Gettinger, second by Jamie Ballew. Final Resolution: Motion Carries Yea: Jamie Ballew, Eric Basler, David Bova, Geralyn Diesel, Joshua Gettinger, James Kirchner, Martha Resinger
The school board also voted to create a transportation director position.
Motion to approve the addition of a Transportation Director position for the district as presented. Motion by Eric Basler, second by James Kirchner. Final Resolution: Motion Carries Yea: Jamie Ballew, Eric Basler, David Bova, Geralyn Diesel, Joshua Gettinger, James Kirchner, Martha Resinger
According to the district’s announcement “earlier this school year, Fallert Bus Service representatives expressed their desire to retire before the current contract expires, preferably at the end of the current school year. Our relationship with Fallert Bus Service has been decades-long, and they have been reliable and dedicated partners. They have worked worked hard to run a quality transportation service for our students and families.
“The district needed time to investigate options, enlist experts, and identify the best path forward. This decision was not made lightly, and we encourage you to read through the process at the link below.
Prior to the Board meeting, we shared this news with our faculty, staff and families after meeting with Fallert Bus Service employees. We have quite a bit of important information regarding this move, and we want to be fully transparent about the decision-making process and our plans for the 2024-2025 school year.
One less desirable outcome of the decision will be the discontinuance of bus service to the non-public schools in the county.
Dr. Taylor stressed that the decision to recommend the integration of transportation was not made lightly. “I did everything I could to identify a better option, because one of the consequences of Missouri public school districts running in-house transportation is not being able to transport nonpublic students. This would be a violation of the Missouri Constitution, and the decision has also been upheld in subsequent court cases.
“This was not something that we were looking to do,” he said. “It was absolutely not our choice. Our
nonpublic school districts have been good partners with us for many, many years. If we had the choice, we would partner with them and continue to transport their students.”
Dr. Taylor met with Father Nemeth, president of Valle Catholic Schools, to explain the situation and how the district’s integration of transportation would affect our nonpublic partners. Father Nemeth has since shared the news with Valle Catholic families, and we appreciate their team’s understanding. Dr. Taylor also spoke with Michelle Otte, principal at St. Agnes School.
Dr. Taylor shared with them that the district is committed to assisting in any other way possible. The district will include our nonpublic partners in any conversations regarding surplus buses, and will also check into whether it would be possible for the district to offer space and maintenance for transportation vehicles owned by other entities.
SG R-II and Fallert Bus Service are currently in the second year of a five-year contract that was approved by the Board of Education on April 19, 2022. However, earlier this school year, Fallert Bus Service representatives expressed their desire to retire before the current contract expires, preferably at the end of the current school year.
Fallert Bus Service owners Brad and Christy Moll were in attendance at the Board meeting. SG R-II
Superintendent Dr. Paul Taylor shared that over the past several decades, Fallert Bus, Inc. has been a reliable partner through a variety of challenges.
“In the end, we decided that it would be in the district’s best interest to purchase the facility and fleet and bring transportation in-house,” he said. “Our relationship with Fallert Bus Service has been decades-long. They have been fantastic partners. They have worked with us every time an issue arose, and have worked so hard to run a quality transportation service for our students and families.”
Dr. Taylor pointed out that this news may come as a surprise to many, and there were a variety of reasons that the district was unable to share information earlier. This was an unanticipated situation for this school year, and the district needed time to investigate options, enlist experts, and identify the best path forward.
Also, this will be a drastic change for current Fallert Bus Service’s employees, including drivers, mechanics, office staff, and others. It was important for the district to be able to share this information with them first, in order to answer as many of their questions as possible and hopefully minimize any anxiety related to this change.
Making the Decision
Dr. Taylor shared the decision-making process involved evaluating various scenarios, including: 1) whether the district could post a Request for Proposals for outside transportation services to step in for next year; 2) whether another company might purchase Fallert Bus Service and its operation and then offer services to the district; 3) whether the district could take on transportation services itself; or 4) if some combination of the above could be identified and adopted.
After months of careful consideration, it was determined that the best course of action for the district
would be to self manage transportation services. The following highlight the reasoning behind this
recommendation:
1. The district will be able to efficiently and effectively transition operations while maintaining the
high-quality service our families rely on.
2. This enables us to retain valuable Fallert Bus Service employees with extensive knowledge and
experience in transportation.
3. It provides us with financial stability and control over future transportation costs, safeguarding against potential increases from unaffiliated external providers who are not local.
4. The majority of rural school districts today manage their own transportation services. Within the
MAAA schools of which the district is a member, all of the districts manage their own transportation.
Current Fallert Bus Service Employees
District administration met with Mr. and Mrs. Moll, as well as all of the Fallert Bus Service employees, prior to the Board meeting in order to share the news and answer as many of their questions as possible. Dr. Taylor shared that the district would hire a Director of Transportation, who would spend the first year learning the ropes. He stressed that the priority is to learn how things are currently managed before making any changes.
Any changes the first year would be requirements either from DESE or state statute— a public school district running its own transportation has requirements that private companies contracting transportation services do not. Dr. Taylor also shared that the district will be proactive in communicating with transportation employees as we move forward.
Taking on Transportation Financially
● District administration spent months investigating the following items: working with Fallert Bus
Service to determine property value and fleet value; surveying surrounding districts to develop
appropriate operational cost analyses; enlisting the help of DESE to determine anticipated
transportation reimbursements and funding; consulting our law firm to ensure the district is
operating within the proper parameters; and working with LJ Hart, the district’s financial advisor, to
determine if taking on this service is possible, and how to ensure that this move creates the least
financial burden possible going forward.
● The district is considering a five-year lease-purchase agreement to purchase the property, the Bus
Barn and the fleet. This softens the financial impact by spreading out the payments in order to absorb
the expenditure over a period of time.
● Dr. Taylor shared that over the last several years, prior district administrators worked to increase our
fund balances as best they could in anticipation of future financial challenges (including ongoing tax
protests by LafargeHolcim, Mississippi Lime and Lhoist, where a large portion of tax monies are being
held in escrow rather than disbursed to the district and other taxing entities). “We need to be
prepared to support our assessor and the other taxing entities in those legal battles,” he said. “That’s
not going away. But there are some reserve funds that we can utilize for annual operational costs and
to address the aging fleet if need be.”
● The district is estimating a roughly $500,000 deficit the first year, which includes that high estimate
of $1.7 million for operational expenses. This budget is also dependent on funds reimbursed through
the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) for transportation (this was fully
funded at 75% this past year, but is not set going forward.) “My approach is to maintain what prior
superintendents have done, and that is to be aggressive with expenditures projections and
conservative with revenue projections.”
A Better Position for the Future
Dr. Taylor stressed that taking on transportation services is the best route for our students and for our district as a whole, not only right now, but in the future. We can ensure that the district has control over
transportation costs down the line, which in turn will save our taxpayers money. There is value in owning the property, as well as the Bus Barn. This purchase offers the district options in the future— If later on, the district were to decide to publish an RFP and utilize an external company for transportation services, we could do so, while continuing to own the property and Bus Barn. This would ensure that the district retains some control over any future contract, as an external service would be utilizing our spaces and property.
“Fallert Bus Service is a hometown company, they’re hometown people, they’re dedicated, we know them,” Dr. Taylor said. “With an outside entity coming in, we wouldn’t know what we were getting. We might get a good deal for the first year or two, but what do we do after that?”
Next Steps
Moving forward through the summer and approaching the next school year, we will keep transportation
employees and families updated on any developments and address any questions or concerns that may arise.
The district plans to hire a Transportation Director, and plans to enter into a consultation contract with Mr. Moll for the first year, so that he can provide guidance and share historical knowledge about how the company has operated.
Thank You, Fallert Bus Service
The Board thanked Mr. and Mrs. Moll and all Fallert Bus Service staff for all of their hard work and dedication over the years. Board President David Bova also thanked them for approaching the district before any other outside entities, so that the Board had the opportunity to make a decision regarding transportation.
“We appreciate the district, the staff and the Boards we’ve worked with,” Mr. Moll said. “We’ve worked with several superintendents— over 24 years— and we’ve had a great working relationship. But the time has come that we have to make this move. We appreciate you considering it, we hope you are able to take it on, and we want you to succeed at it. We want to make it a smooth transition, get it all lined out with you. We appreciate you working with us and the good 24 years that we’ve had. We thank you very much.”