School Committee votes to extend bus contract for one year

By Melissa Fales
Reporter

WARE – The School Committee has voted to extend its contract with First Student for school bus transportation in the 2010-2011 school year. At their March 31 meeting, the committee voted 4 to 1 to take the final year option on their existing contract which was signed in July 2006. Last year they signed a one-year contract extension with the bus company.
Superintendent Mary Elizabeth Beach had answers to questions committee members had raised about the bus contract during discussion at the March 17 meeting. One question was how the district would be reimbursed for days the extra daycare bus did not run. First Student canceled the daycare bus after determining it was not needed, but the district was still charged for several days. Beach said the district will be credited for those days on the next bill.
Committee member Brian P. Winslow had questioned whether the district was allowed to penalize First Student for 11 days this semester when the bus company doubled up a run. Beach said the contract allows the district to penalize the company $50 per run, but First Student had already credited the district $56 per run for those 11 days. Beach explained each bus runs four times per day (to and from school twice) and the $56 figure represents one fourth of the $225.41 per day the district pays for each bus.
Winslow wondered whether the bus company has always credited the district when doubling runs or if they waited for the district to notice. “How many other times did they do it and get away with it?” he asked. Beach said in her dealings with First Student she had always found them to be “forthcoming and direct.” She said, except for in an emergency, First Student now calls for her approval before doubling up on a bus route. Beach explained that First Student was hit with a number of bereavements and illness all at one time, which led to the need to double up. Beach noted that since the district pays for the fuel, there is actually some advantage to occasional doubling up.
Winslow said any personnel issues the bus company faces are not the district’s problem. “We’re paying for a service,” he said. “We should have that full service.” He asked whether someone from each school could count the buses each day to make sure there weren’t any unauthorized doubled-up runs. High School Principal Lucille Brindisi said there was an adult outside with the buses every day and Middle School Principal Robert Warren said he was usually out with the buses to manage the students. Committee member Aaron Sawabi suggested the bus company be told that the schools would have someone outside counting buses. He said if there are a fixed number of buses every day, it shouldn’t be too hard for an adult to ensure they are all there.
Andy Paquette of the Management Solution recommended the committee sign the one year extension and explore the option of teaming up with another school district for more purchasing power. “One contract for 2 communities is more bang for your buck,” he said. According to Paquette, the Granby School District is “very interested” in the possibility of teaming up with Ware in order to get a better transportation price. Because the two towns would need to enter into an intergovernmental agreement for the contract, Desjardins suggested the committee take the matter up with the Board of Selectmen for their input.
Paquette noted that Granby and Ware are both clients of The Management Solution, both share School Counsel Fred Dupere and are both contracted with First Student. Granby’s First Student contract will be up in 2011. Paquette said if it turns out that teaming up would not be beneficial to one of the parties, it won’t happen. Winslow asked Paquette if he was only recommending the contract extension because of the potential teaming up with Granby. Paquette said it was just one reason, adding that First Student had a good safety track record and that he respected the operations manager.
The committee voted 4 to 1 to sign the First Student contract extension, with Winslow voting against it. “I feel they’re being very unprofessional,” he said. In addition to the issue of the doubling-up on runs, Winslow said phone calls he placed to First Student that had gone unreturned.
Desjardins said he suspected some residents might wonder why the committee was reviewing the contract so closely or taking the time to make sure the district was credited the seemingly small sum of $50 for a bus run. “We have to look at this, this is our job,” Desjardins said. “This is the town’s money. We’re doing this because this is what we were elected to do.”