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USD 368 board approves five-year bus contract extension, lease addendum for district bus barn
Summary
Paola USD 368 approved a proposed five-year extension to its student transportation contract and a lease addendum for the district-owned bus barn after staff presented terms including multi-year rate increases and a termination clause.
Paola Unified School District (USD) 368 voted to approve a five‑year extension of its student transportation contract and a related lease addendum for the district’s bus barn during the board meeting. The contract extension covers five additional school years and includes scheduled rate increases and contract provisions staff described as typical for the region.
District staff reviewed the contract history and said the district has held the existing provider since 2010–11 through a series of extensions. Staff said the company operates locally under a parent company and that route pricing varies across districts depending on route structure and staggered start times. Staff recommended extension rather than going to bid because, they said, recent local bidding produced less favorable terms due to market volatility and start‑up costs for a new vendor.
Under the presented terms, the company’s initial proposal included a 4.5% increase in year one, 3.5% in years two and three, and then CPI‑linked increases in later years with a 3% minimum; staff said they negotiated those terms down to the version presented to the board. The agreement also specifies vehicle‑age requirements, options for newer buses at higher cost, and a termination clause allowing either party to end the contract at the end of any school year by giving notice by Nov. 1.
Staff also described the bus barn lease arrangement: the district owns the facility and provides its use to the transportation company in exchange for a credit on the provider’s billing—effectively the district receives the value of roughly one route (including one bus monitor) in return for facility use. Staff noted that owning the facility reduces the district’s risk compared with a vendor who would need to establish a terminal and fueling infrastructure.
Board members made a motion to approve the transportation contract extension and bus barn lease addendum. The board took a voice vote and the motion passed.
The board did not conduct a public roll call vote during the meeting; staff said the contract contains customary operational safeguards and that the district surveyed comparable contracts in similar districts before recommending the extension. No additional contract dollar totals or per‑route prices were provided during the presentation.
