South Allegheny, bus firm reach interim agreement

The South Allegheny School District and Sun Coach Lines LLC reached an interim agreement on Tuesday to provide special-needs students with transportation to schools in the district while the two sides continue to mediate over their broader transportation dispute.

Per the interim agreement, which is not legally binding, Sun Coach will provide the district’s special-needs students with transportation to school in accordance with the rate the Pittsburgh Public Schools district pays for buses — about $315 per bus, per day, according to Sun Coach’s attorney, Ray Middleman.

Students in the district without special needs will continue to go without buses for the foreseeable future, however. The district said in a letter to parents on Sunday that although its schools will remain open for instruction, transportation to and from school must occur through a parent or guardian.

The interim agreement on Tuesday was reached during an emergency injunction hearing that was requested by South Allegheny on Friday. The district sought to have Sun Coach, its provider of student transportation for over 25 years, be required to continue providing its services to the district while the broader dispute is either mediated or a judge or arbitrator makes a formal decision.

The request for the emergency hearing was triggered after Sun Coach’s president, David I.L. Sunstein, said in a statement Friday that the company had terminated its contract with the district, claiming it was owed more than $800,000 — debt going back over 10 months since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. The district disputes the claim.

The injunction is the third the district has filed against the company since the start of the pandemic. The district said on its website that the two other injunctions were requested after Sun Coach said it would stop transporting students due to the dispute.

After both sides gave their arguments on Tuesday, Allegheny County Common Pleas Judge John McVay requested that they at least reach an interim agreement over specialneeds students and partake in more mediation sessions before he schedules another hearing or gives an official decision. The two sides will also attempt to reach a more formal agreement over specialneeds student transportation during the mediation.