Surrounded by district bus drivers, MFL MarMac Transportation Director Trent Miene expressed disappointment at the April 13 school board meeting in the board’s decision last month to postpone a new bus garage facility.
After a review of the project bids at its March 9 meeting, the board voted nearly unanimously to reject all bids despite nearly a year in planning for the project, which would have included construction of a new maintenance garage and potentially a bus barn.
Superintendent Tim Dugger said the board’s decision, in February, to purchase the former Commercial Vehicle Group (Monona Wire) property prompted financial reconsideration.
When he agreed to take the transportation director job nearly 13 years ago, Miene said he was told a new bus garage and barn were in the short-term future of the district.
“That was one of the attractive and deciding factors in me accepting this position,” he said.
According to Miene, the current shop was built in the early 1960s and the barn was added in the early 1970s. At that time, a large bus was considered to be a 36- to 42-passenger bus. Current large buses are double that size, with 84 passengers.
“For far too long, we’ve operated out of a space way too small for the size of the current buses,” Miene shared. “Also, the space is outdated, cramped and creates many safety issues. When it rains, or we get snow melting off the roofs, and someone flushes the toilet, it either backs up and overflows on the floor or backs up into the sink. I’ve had to clean that type of mess up more than I care to admit. We have no hot water to wash our hands. Cracks in the exterior walls and poor craftsmanship have allowed water to run in from door frames when it rains or snow melts off the roof.”
Miene cited structural issues with the service pit, which he said have been known for years and not addressed.
“When I had my accident last year, part of the wall and the floor surrounding the pit literally fell out from underneath my feet due to the failing structural issues. Yes, that part was repaired, but more could still be done,” he explained. “The list is endless as far as issues with the current facility.”
Miene said all of this is coupled with heavy use. Not a week has gone by—outside the state-mandated week off—that there isn’t some form of transportation need.
“We have vehicles being used 260 to 275 days out of the school year, and we travel around 230,000 to 260,000 miles every year,” he said. “At one of the prior board meetings, there was a statement saying that money should be spent on things that directly have an impact on the students. Whether you realize it or not, there is not a single student that enters our school doors who does not utilize the school transportation in some way, shape or form.”
The transportation director added the board’s decision is also disappointing given other projects that have been completed in the past decade. He listed rebuilt softball and baseball dugouts; the addition of baseball field lights and replacement of football field lights; resurfacing of the track; remodeling of the gyms, libraries, sciences rooms and Monona Center administrative offices; new lighting and air conditioning in all classrooms in both centers; the elementary addition, including a faculty restroom; and construction of a new crow’s nest/press box at the football field.
“It amazes me how, when issues arose with the crow’s nest, it was addressed immediately, torn down and replaced with the new facility, which seemed to be pushed through rather quickly because it was considered a safety issue,” Miene said. “When I invited the school board down to the current bus barn, I had heard comments like, ‘Oh, my. We had no idea.’ The other one that really stuck out in my head was, ‘There are so many OSHA violations here.’”
Miene understands the district’s purchase of the CVG property and has no problem with it, he said. He did not understand why it’s purchase halted the bus garage project.
“If that $400,000 was gonna kill this project, why did we send it out for bids in the first place?” he asked. “I had been told that, if the bids came back close to what was projected, there was a high likelihood that both phases of that project could get done. Then the bids came back pretty much right on projection and suddenly we purchased the property, and now we can’t afford to do any of it.”
“To say we are disappointed is an understatement,” Miene concluded. “I really thought this was the year that I could go back to the drivers and tell them that they are getting a new facility that is long overdue and that they very much deserve, but once again, that was not the case.”
The board made no comments following Miene’s statement.
Also at the meeting, the board approved the fiscal year 2027 budget as presented and approved board policy 213, which relates to public comments at meetings. Per the policy, anyone wishing to be placed on the agenda must notify the board secretary at least 12 hours prior to the posted meeting time. This previously required a two-day notice.
Also, the board approved the resignations of Tracy Decker as high school assistant football coach and head high school track coach (he previously resigned as a middle school teacher), Greg Wolff as custodian, Mindy Clubb as high school musical assistant, Alicia Grove for food service and Jaydeane Berns as SODA advisor. David Corlett will transfer from fifth grade teacher to middle school social studies teacher.
