The Gateway school board on Tuesday approved a new seven-year contract with its transportation provider, Student Transportation of America Inc.

After the meeting, school board president Scott Williams said the company's gift of a $300,000 scoreboard to the district was not a factor in the board’s decision to renew the contract.

“We’re happy with the service they provide,” Mr. Williams said. “We’re happy with the safety they provide our children to the extent they go to provide extra safety with GPS and cameras.”

School Director Mary Beth Cirucci said the company’s use of propane fuel for buses has saved the school district money, and that Student Transportation of America will install its own GPS devices in buses, saving the district about $100,000 in expenses needed to upgrade software.

Both Mr. Williams and Mrs. Cirucci said they have no concerns about the distance the company, based in Trafford, has to travel to provide transportation to students.

Mrs. Cirucci said the new contract will represent a “modest” 2 percent to 4 percent increase over the current one. She said transportation currently costs the district about $3.9 million per year, and under the new contract, it will cost the district about $4 million a year.

The first year of the new contract will replace the last year of the current seven-year contract during the 2019-2020 school year, and will continue through the 2025-2026 school year.

Also Tuesday night, school directors approved public display of a new policy allowing the use of metal and weapon detectors in district schools.

“We hope to start rolling out metal detectors in our high school and middle school in January,” Mrs. Cirucci said.

Anne Cloonan, freelance writer: suburbanliving@post-gazette.com

First Published: November 22, 2018, 4:26 a.m.