Another session presented later during STN EXPO West on July 14 by Tim Purvis focused on using AI to help with budgeting decisions. “Every operational unit is going to have to cut 10 percent of their budget,” Hahn said, describing a conversation he said is playing out across the country. His central argument was that transportation directors lose budget fights before the budget is built. Staffing consumes 86 percent to 90 percent of a transportation budget, he said, yet many directors have never seen the document. The three-year projection, he said, is what secured the school district with a fully funded vehicle replacement schedule.