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A Connection to the Community
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A Connection to the Community

Newman-Crows Landing City Schools, Newman, Calif.

Overview

In 1913 the Newman-Crows Landing Unified School District (NCLUSD) began contracting their school transportation service, using a modified Model T Ford fabricated by Frank Patchett.  This bus, now known as “First Student’s Number One Bus,” was one of the first school buses in the U.S. – providing service for one of the first known school bus contracts. While company ownership has changed to First Student, NCLUSD’s century-long partnership is still going strong.

Challenge

Superintendent Ed Felt was faced with the same challenge as many other school administrators — he had to cut the district’s budget and he had to do it quickly so they could see immediate results in the upcoming school year. His need to trim $1.3 million from his overall budget resulted in a significant reduction in the transportation budget.  Relationships built on trust and transparency stand the test of time – and the strain of budgets. When school district administration were faced with transportation budget cuts of up to 20 percent, they turned to First Student to help find a creative solution.

Download the case study to learn how First Student worked with the district to save the community $116,000 without reducing access for any of the 1,500 households that rely on transportation services.