The Jefferson City School District has contracted with D&K Bus Service for the first time.
The company has started running one bus to transport Helias Catholic High School and Calvary Lutheran High School students to Nichols Career Center, JC Schools Chief of Operations Jason Hoffman said.
D&K runs the additional route due to the district's recent change in school start times, Hoffman said.
"In the past, we had buses that were coming to (Jefferson City High School) at the same time as Nichols," Hoffman said. "So a bus just stopped at Helias and Calvary on their way into school. Now, all the buses that are driving routes at the same time Nichols starts are elementary schools - so we didn't have a bus route that could bring Helias/Calvary students."
The district's Board of Education approved the new start and end times in March. JC Schools' high school classes run 8:40 a.m.-3:40 p.m.; middle schools, 8:50 a.m.-3:50 p.m.; and elementary schools, 7:45 a.m.-2:45 p.m.
All other transportation needs for JCSD are provided by First Student, whose contract with the district runs through June 30, 2020, Hoffman said.
The district uses all of First Student's buses and drivers for their elementary routes in the morning.
Nichol's start time remained at 8 a.m., as to not disrupt other districts' students, Hoffman said.
Blair Oaks R-2 School District contracts with D&K and also brings students to Nichols in the morning. Adding the other two sending schools to their route was "the most economical method" for the district, Hoffman said.
The board approved the D&K contract and all bus routes for the 2019-20 school year at its meeting earlier this month. The district operated under a "day-to-day agreement" from the first day of school until the contract was approved, Hoffman said.
Services cost about $40 per bus per day, according to the contract. The route will run five days a week every day Nichols is in session, Hoffman said.
D&K is a transportation service based in Jefferson City. First Student is a national transportation service. JCSD Director of Facilities and Transportation told the board that First Student was the first bus company used for the district opened under a different name.