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ST. LOUIS — The company that operates buses for St. Louis Public Schools has notified state officials it’s terminating its contract with the district this summer.

The move comes after about a month of turmoil in the company’s St. Louis operations, including driver walkouts, that began when a mechanic said he found a noose near his workstation.

In a letter to the state warning of impending layoffs, Missouri Central Bus Co. said contract negotiations with SLPS broke down and the decision was mutual. Company Vice President Keith Lane said in the letter that “good faith efforts” were made by both sides, but they could not “negotiate mutually agreeable terms.”

But in a statement Monday evening, SLPS blamed Missouri Central.

“Missouri Central’s inability to maintain enough drivers to transport the students of St. Louis Public Schools has been well-documented,” the district said. “They report that the driver shortage makes it economically unviable for them to honor their agreement to support the children of St. Louis Public Schools.”

SLPS officials said the district’s contract with Missouri Central was slated to run through the end of the 2024-25 school year, but the company is exercising a clause to terminate the contract early. School officials said they had no warning about the letter to state officials.

The letter comes about a month after the employee who said he found a noose kicked off weeks of allegations against the company, including discrimination, toxic work environments and unsafe practices.

Drivers called out of work in protest, and mechanics claimed school buses had been sent out on the streets despite needing safety repairs.

SLPS detailed Missouri Central’s “worsening” situation over the past several months, including a demand the company made for more money in December after failing to deliver students to school on time for three straight semesters.

This month, SLPS said, Missouri Central claimed the noose incident did “irreparable harm” to the company’s reputation, and the company could no longer work with SLPS.

Missouri Central plans to close two of its stations as a “direct result” of the contract termination, according to the company’s letter sent to state officials.

Closing those locations would result in the layoff of about 332 employees, according to the letter.

George Sells, a spokesperson for SLPS, said any new vendor will likely hire the same drivers laid off by Missouri Central.

The district will begin looking for a new contractor this week, and district officials said they hope to provide a “stable and equitable work environment” for drivers.

In a statement Tuesday, Scott Allen, Regional Operations Manager for Missouri Central, said the company will help SLPS make a smooth transition into the fall. 

"For the past two years, Missouri Central School Bus has been proud to provide service to the St. Louis Public Schools community," Allen said. "Amid an unprecedented national driver shortage, our 300-plus employees have worked tirelessly every day to safely transport the children of St. Louis. We are proud of the work our drivers, monitors, technicians and staff delivered in a very difficult post-COVID environment."

This story has been updated to include comment from Scott Allen.