YOUNGSTOWN — The Youngstown Board of Education has proposed awarding a contract to a longtime bus company in an effort to ease the district’s ongoing transportation challenges.

During its regular meeting Tuesday at Youngstown Rayen Early College High School, Superintendent Jeremy Batchelor announced the recommendation of Cincinnati-based Petermann Bus Co. to handle transporting students to and from school during a period of bus driver shortages and limited options for students, many of whom have had to rely the past few years on Western Reserve Transit Authority city buses.

Petermann, which was founded in 1921, transports more than 84,000 students daily across the U.S., according to its website.

Earlier, a formal request for proposal had been issued to solve the transportation challenges for the district’s high school students, as well as to address employee health care coverage for the remainder of the collective bargaining agreement, Nancy Mikos, the district’s business manager, noted.

In addition, Petermann operates in 35 districts across Ohio, she said.

The company was selected over five others based on a seven-part rubric that totaled 100 points: experience and qualifications, compliance with scope and services, fleet and maintenance approach, staffing plan and resources, performance accountability, pricing and overall value, and transition readiness. Petermann’s score of 90 points was the highest of the six proposals.

The company promises to offer current district drivers employment opportunities, along with sign-on incentive opportunities. Specifically, those would be $1,000 and $2,000 for aides and drivers, respectively, Batchelor noted.

Also, health care coverage and other collective bargaining agreement-related items would be addressed via a bargaining discussion, the superintendent added.

“Nobody’s losing benefits; nobody’s losing pay,” Batchelor said, adding that other companies were unable to make such a promise.

Treasurer Michael A. Rock noted that the district’s transportation cost is about $10 million, roughly half of which comes from the state. If Petermann Bus Co. is selected, those costs could be reduced to between $6.5 million and $7.3 million, which may save the district an estimated $12 million over its four-year financial forecast, Rock explained.

In addition, the district could save hundreds of thousands of dollars in technology costs by tapping into the company’s system, he continued.

The board intends to vote on the recommendation at its June 9 meeting, Batchelor said.

SUPPORT SERVICES

Also at the session, the board heard a presentation from HaSheen Wilson, New Vision Behavioral Health Services’ founder, who outlined a series of offerings his company plans to provide to students who are dealing with trauma as well as high stress and anxiety, all of which interfere with learning and often contribute to the district’s chronic absenteeism.

New Visions operates under a three-tiered support system: schoolwide preventative strategies focused on positive behavior and social-emotional wellness, early intervention and skill-building efforts in small group settings, and individualized, comprehensive care plans coupled with crisis-intervention strategies, Wilson said.

The 2026-27 school year, which also will be when the district’s reconfiguration plan gets underway, will serve as a pilot phase that includes a midyear evaluation, he added.

The “emotional infrastructure” his company offers also will provide a greater level of stability for teachers, many of whom are forced to act as crisis managers for students, something that often is outside of their expertise, Wilson said.

RECOGNITIONS

In other business, four Choffin Career and Technical Center juniors — Matthias Meadows, Breylin Yuman de la Rosa, Alondra Rivera-Rodriguez and Mariell Lee — were recognized for being on one of five teams statewide to have competed in a cooking competition May 8 at Columbus Community College.

Tricia Goodnough, Choffin’s culinary arts instructor, noted that the competition was focused largely on the importance of sustainability and locally-grown food. The four students were challenged to create a school lunch that will be on the menu beginning next school year and was based on U.S. Department of Agriculture guidelines, Goodnough said, adding that she built the foundation for the students but allowed them to collaborate in the meal’s planning and preparation.

Specifically, the four of them filled a whole-grain tortilla shell with romaine lettuce, carrots, seasoned chicken, black bean and corn salsa topped with cilantro lime sauce.

“They made everything from scratch, except the tortilla,” Goodnough said, adding that several steps also were part of their process, including a nutrition analysis and a 10-minute presentation before a six-judge panel.