Legalities keep school bus study from public eyes

A consultant’s report examining ballooning costs of public school bus service was described as "comprehensive" Tuesday, but not made public because state officials said they needed more time to review it.

Officials said the report, which cost taxpayers $109,000, would be released by the Board of Education’s next meeting Dec. 4, when proposed solutions for student transportation will be discussed.

The state Department of Education received the report Monday.

Schools Superintendent Kathryn Mata­yo­shi said Tuesday the state attorney general’s office advised the department not to release the report until the office and the department had a chance to review it.

A "full review" is necessary because of procurement issues and potential litigation with school bus contractors, she said.

Matayoshi also said she had not yet read the report and so could not comment on its contents.

The Star-Advertiser has filed an open-records request for an unredacted copy of the report.

The study, which is about 70 pages long, includes an in-depth analysis of student transportation services and recommendations about what the state should do to bring down school bus costs, board Chairman Don Hor­ner said.

"The report was comprehensive and in my opinion well done," he said. "There is substantial work that needs to be done."

Horner did not comment on the conclusions in the report.

But at a board meeting Tuesday afternoon, he did say there is no doubt the report will be made public.

"We’ve got to have a chance to have the lawyers look through it," he said, adding that the report had some "very strong recommendations."

"We’ve got a really clear path forward," he said.

The department hired consultant Management Partnership Services, based in Maryland, to produce the study.

On Monday the department issued a news release announcing the report was complete, but said it would not be released now.

Officials have previously characterized the study as crucial to providing solutions to systemic and operational issues involved with how the department handles student transportation.

About 48,000 general and special education students ride school buses.

The cost for student transportation services was $76 million in fiscal year 2012, up from $64 million in 2009 and $29 million in 2006.

Taxpayers pay the bulk of the cost for the bus service. The department has also tried to tackle rising costs by raising bus fares, consolidating routes and, this school year, cutting service. About 2,000 students were affected by route eliminations in July.