La Grange Area Schools Socked With 21% Bus Hike

LA GRANGE, IL – Lyons Township High School and 10 other districts are set to see a 21 percent increase in school bus costs.

On Monday, the school board voted unanimously for a five-year contract with Cincinnati-based First Student, the only bidder.

The other districts are expected to do the same. That's because the company is seen as the only game in town.

"It would be very difficult for somebody else to come in with overhead costs to be able to underbid First Student," Brian Stachacz, the high school's top finance official, told the board. "I don't want to say it's impossible, but it's close."

Over the last quarter-century, big players such as First Student and Cook-Illinois Corp. have bought regional and local bus firms, Stachacz said.

Board member Shawn Kennedy said the monopoly situation won't likely end soon.

"It scares me that they've got this," he said. "We don't have any other options, and that's frightening."

"I think your observation is very accurate on where we are with this," Stachacz said.

In the past, the high school has looked at forming its own bus service, but determined the costs would be too high, he said.

Kennedy suggested that the 11 districts consider combining forces on a bus service.

Stachacz said that was a possibility.

At the same time, he said an increase such as 21 percent is unusual. The others have ranged from 5 percent to 7 percent, which, in some cases, have been fair given labor cost hikes, he said.

"They're not immune to inflation either," he said.

Compared with other districts, Stachacz said, the high school's bus costs are "not terrible."

The following years' cost increases will be at the inflation rate, up to 5 percent.