Palmdale Leaves Public School Bus Agency : Transportation: The switch to a private company will save the district an estimated $650,000.

In a move to save money, the Palmdale School District decided Tuesday to pull out of the public bus agency that now serves most Antelope Valley school districts and hire a private school bus company.

In the past, some school officials had predicted Palmdale’s departure from the Antelope Valley Schools Transportation Agency would cause the demise of the 10-year-old cooperative. However, Palmdale and bus agency officials both predicted Tuesday that the cooperative would survive despite some cutbacks.

By a 5-0 vote, the Palmdale district’s board of trustees awarded a three-year, $3.1-million busing contract to Rosemead-based Durham Transportation. Under the contract, Palmdale will obtain its own buses, but Durham will maintain them, manage the program and hire the drivers, starting service next month.

Palmdale had been the largest of the eight public school districts in the cooperative. About 4,500 of the district’s 11,800 students ride the buses.

Palmdale school district officials said the cost to remain in the bus agency for the coming year would have been about $1.9 million. For the same level of service under the new contract, officials said, they expect to spend about $1.25 million--$973,000 for Durham and a $280,000 installment payment on new buses.

Officials said they hope to get 10 of their own original buses back from the agency and plan to buy up to 32 new ones over a period of several years for $1.9 million.

Several bus drivers for the cooperative attended Tuesday’s meeting and later complained that safety and service to the district’s students will plummet with the switch to a private company. But Palmdale officials said they believe Durham has a good safety record.