Nearly 80 bus drivers and support staff in Warren County are staring down potential job losses after the school district shifted its student transportation contract to a new provider. The move ends a long-running relationship with Durham School Services and follows a state WARN notice from Durham that lists roughly 79 employees at risk.
The layoff notice was filed with state workforce officials earlier this month. Country Herald reports that the WARN filing identifies 79 affected workers, points to an early June date for employment losses, and lists a Warren County location tied to Durham's local operations. The filing serves as the formal alert that activates state and local rapid-response efforts and provides workers with advance notice.
Warren County Schools told WSMV it will not renew its expiring contract with Durham School Services. After a competitive request-for-proposal process, the district awarded daily bus routes to Ecco Ride, LLC. Durham will continue operating transportation through June 30, while Ecco Ride is scheduled to take over on July 1. According to the district, Ecco Ride is required to offer positions to all qualified Durham employees and has already started onboarding sessions at the district's Learning & Leadership Center.
Who Ecco Ride Is
Ecco Ride describes itself as a family-owned transportation company that partners with school systems in several states and draws on decades of combined industry experience. The company highlights paid training, sign-on bonuses, and aggressive recruiting as tools to help relieve local school bus driver shortages as it grows into new markets. Ecco Ride promotes its services as a growing operation that currently works with communities in Tennessee, Alabama, and Missouri.
What The WARN Notice Means
Under the federal WARN Act, most larger employers must give 60 days' notice ahead of plant closings or mass layoffs so that workers, communities, and government agencies can prepare. The law also triggers state rapid-response coordination and can entitle employees to back pay or continued benefits if those notice rules are not followed, according to the U.S. Department of Labor. U.S. Department of Labor
Local Reaction And Support
Durham has taken to Facebook to urge employees and community members to speak out against the provider change, a push noted by WSMV. For workers facing uncertainty, state and local rapid-response coordinators stand ready to offer job search help, training options, and other transition support, according to the Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development. Tennessee Department of Labor
The handoff will unfold as the school year winds down. Durham keeps the routes through late June, and Ecco Ride is set to take over July 1. For drivers and aides, the key questions now are whether they receive offers from the new contractor and how quickly workforce programs can help anyone who ends up between paychecks find their next job.
