Espero asked the superintendent a series of questions about an FBI investigation into possible collusion among school bus contractors that Civil Beat reported on in its Taken For a Ride series.

“Millions and millions of dollars may have been stolen or ripped off from the Department of Education,” Espero said. “Is DOE trying to get to the bottom of this?”

Moore and Matayoshi said they can’t speak to the criminal investigation. Tokuda invited Espero to come to next Friday’s 2 p.m. briefing on how to reduce the district’s school bus costs.

Kouchi praised the chairman and education chair Tokuda for the roles they played in bringing the rising bus costs and lack of competition to the attention of lawmakers.

They were instrumental last year in including a budget proviso requesting a full report on how to reduce school bus costs before the Legislature continues funding them.