RUTHERFORD COUNTY, Tenn. (WTVF) — Thousands of Rutherford County students were affected after a school bus contractor's insurance policy lapsed, prompting the district to ground an estimated 40 bus routes and call a special meeting to determine what consequences the contractor will face.
The Rutherford County School District found out Friday that bus contractor Ursa Major's insurance policies lapsed Thursday at midnight. The district grounded approximately 40 bus routes on Monday and Tuesday — and possibly for the rest of the school year.
District spokesperson James Evans said the insurance agent notified the district on Friday that the policies had lapsed.
"Up until Friday, we were under the impression he had those," Evans said.
The district believes students possibly rode on uninsured buses for one day before the routes were grounded.
Evans said the situation is compounded by the fact that Ursa Major should not have been operating as many routes as it was. The contractor had been running what Evans described as a "subleasing" type system.
"They're supposed to have no more than 10 contracts each, but in this case, we learned this contractor has been subleasing," Evans said.
The insurance lapse also raises questions about taxpayer money. A new state law requires contractors to pay for their own insurance, and Rutherford County gave each contractor $4,000 per contract to cover it.
When asked what happened to those funds, Evans said: "That is a question."
In the meantime, existing bus drivers have been covering the affected routes, getting students to school — though some arrived after the bell. Evans said existing drivers can cover the estimated 40 grounded routes, possibly through the end of the school year.
The district's school board is set to hold a special-called meeting to determine what penalty, if any, Ursa Major will face — and what comes next for transportation.
"The board's gonna have to decide what the penalty is for this contractor," Evans said.
Evans added that replacing the routes with other contractors is not possible until the current contract is terminated, if that is what the board chooses.
"As soon as they choose to do that, we have one of them wings waiting for those contracts," Evans said.
Parents are watching closely and want accountability.
"I feel like they should be held under a microscope for taking care of all of these kids. You're the one we're trusting with all of our kids," one parent said.
Some parents are also worried about what a termination could mean for transportation going forward.
"Does he get fired and we lose 40 buses, and we really don't know what we're gonna do about transportation after that," one parent said.
Evans said the district will continue to communicate with families so they can make arrangements if their child's bus route is affected.
"We will be able to move pretty quickly once the board makes a decision one way or the other," Evans said.
This story was reported on-air by reporter Amanda Roberts and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
