The School District of Rhinelander Board of Education voted last week to transfer the district’s student transportation contract from Bowen’s Bus Service to Schilleman Bus Service of Eagle River, Inc. effective July 1, 2027, following the sale of Bowen’s bus operation to the Eagle River company.
The district’s Operations and Strategic Planning Committee signed off on the transfer Sept. 14, after hearing from district administration and the owners of the Eagle River company, and the full board followed suit on Sept. 21.
Under the agreement, Schilleman would continue Bowen’s existing five-year rolling contract with the district “as is,” maintaining the same services for the same cost, according to Bob Thom, the district’s director of business services. Only the company name on the contract would change.
“They do need to have a contract in place” to secure financing to buy new buses, Thom told the operations committee, noting Schilleman does not want to purchase Bowen’s operation without a guaranteed contract with the district.
The sale
According to a memo from Thom to the committee, Jeff and Wendy Bowen approached the district to inform officials they had negotiated the sale of their bus operation to Schilleman Bus Service of Eagle River, Inc. Greg and Sue Herfindahl will purchase all of Bowen’s equipment and continue servicing the Rhinelander School District, the memo states.
Greg Herfindahl told the committee he and his wife are Rhinelander High School graduates from the early 1980s who later returned to the area; his parents ran the Ben Franklin store in Rhinelander for 30 years, and he coached the Rhinelander High School hockey team in the late 1980s and early 1990s. He said he began managing a bus service in Eagle River roughly 35 years ago and has since acquired other contractors in the area.
Herfindahl said Schilleman currently runs about 76 routes daily across a roughly 200-mile service area, including contracts with the Hurley K-12 School District and several Michigan districts.
He said Schilleman would not retain Bowen’s current hub in Newbold but instead plans to purchase the River Street facility in Rhinelander, giving the company a three-bay shop there in addition to a six-bay shop in Eagle River.
Asked about driver recruitment, Herfindahl said the company has struggled, like other bus contractors nationally, with drivers aging out of the workforce, but said Schilleman has managed to cover all of its routes by expanding full-time staff and offering benefits.
Transition plans
Herfindahl said Schilleman began discussions with the Bowens about a year ago and asked for a year-long transition period. The company met with Bowen’s employees at the start of this school year to introduce itself and plans to attend safety meetings ahead of the changeover, with the goal of retaining current drivers.
“We want it to be just a smooth transition,” Herfindahl said.
Schilleman uses routing software called Traversa and integrates with the district’s Infinite Campus student information system, a change from Transfinder, the routing software Bowen’s currently uses.
The council vote to transfer the contract was unanimous however board member Patricia Townsend, a Bowen’s employee, abstained.
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