Originally published October 20, 2026. This report reflects the information available that day.

GRANBURY — Granbury ISD trustees heard a presentation on contracted bus service from First Student on Monday, Oct. 19, one month after approving $1 million for transportation fleet replacement and modernization.

Rhiannon Castillo presented for First Student. She is its director of business development, according to the district.

During the meeting, Chief Financial Officer LaTisha Griffin linked the discussion to the Future Planning Committee's recommendation to examine transportation, including a route study.

A trustee described the presentation as educational and said the district would still use its purchasing process. Trustees took no vote or other action on the First Student item.

In an emailed response Tuesday, GISD Director of Communications Ryan Cox said the presentation was informational and did not announce a contractual relationship.

GISD operates its own student transportation services, and First Student is one of the transportation providers in the area, he said.

Cox said a route study is underway with Edulog, an approved vendor that already supports GISD's transportation route information. The district is also looking at operation studies to determine whether there could be cost savings, he said.

Any potential next steps would go through the district's purchasing guidelines and board processes, Cox said.

The Oct. 19 item memo described an initial discussion of whether contracting could offer operational, financial and service advantages over running transportation internally.

That memo listed an expenditure of $0.00 and said no recommendation to transition services was being presented.

First Student's 15-slide presentation deck described its services and company performance claims.

Although several slides addressed Granbury by name, the deck contained no district-specific price, contract term, cost comparison, fleet count, route count or detailed local operating proposal.

The company's claims about savings, staffing and service performance are its own; the deck did not establish those results for GISD.

BoardBook lists the presentation as posted Oct. 19 at 12:32 p.m., five hours and 28 minutes before the scheduled 6 p.m. open session. The meeting agenda called for a 5 p.m. closed session.

BoardBook, the district's online agenda system, shows the memo uploaded Oct. 7, while the district says it was posted with the agenda on Oct. 13 and that supporting documents are often added at different points before a meeting.

FLEET FUNDING

The draft Sept. 21 minutes posted with the Oct. 19 agenda record a 6-0 vote to release $2.5 million from committed General Fund balance for HVAC and transportation, with one trustee absent.

An accompanying resolution allocated $1 million to the fleet: approximately $875,000 for five new buses and up to $125,000 for acquisition and/or retrofit of up to three used buses. The other $1.5 million was allocated to HVAC work.

Asked about the buses approved Sept. 21, Cox said a bid is open and set to expire Wednesday, Oct. 21, 2026. The district would then follow its purchasing guidelines to acquire the buses, he said.

GISD has 55 route buses and 28 replacement and activity buses, Cox said. He said 43 buses are more than 10 years old and the fleet's average age is 10.36 years as of 2026.

District bond announcements included 30 new buses and a north transportation center in both the November 2023 and May 2024 proposals. Approved canvass minutes show those proposals failed.

Board minutes record bus purchases approved in 2017, 2018, 2021 and 2022.

Later approved minutes record authorization to purchase seven buses in September 2024 and six in October 2025. The October 2025 purchase memo listed a total of $853,053 for five 77-passenger buses and one special-education bus.

SEAT BELTS AND STAFFING

GISD's March 23 transportation presentation listed 59 buses without three-point seat belts. It estimated replacement at $9,220,000 and retrofitting at $1,933,387.

Approved minutes show trustees voted 7-0 on March 23 to report to the Texas Education Agency that the district did not have the funds to replace the 59 buses. The district's memo identified Sept. 1, 2029, as the state deadline for three-point seat belts.

Cox said the district filed the state seat-belt report and applied for a grant to help purchase and update buses with three-point seat belts. The district is awaiting the grant results, he said.

GISD's November 2025 transportation report identified finding qualified drivers as a departmental challenge.

Cox said GISD currently has two vacant driver positions and is holding an Auxiliary Job Fair Thursday, Oct. 22, from 3-6 p.m. at the GISD Administration Building to fill them.

WHAT'S NEXT

BoardBook lists the next board meetings as an Oct. 26 work session and a Nov. 16 regular meeting.

Cox's response did not specify whether other contractors would be invited, whether there would be a request for proposals or when the board might revisit the subject.