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Only one bidder for District 204's regular transportation RFP; First Student's bid seeks 21% first-year increase
Summary
A multi-district bid for regular education transportation returned a single proposal from First Student; the company proposed a 21% increase in the first year and negotiated CPI‑linked adjustments in later years, and staff said a final contract could be ready by June.
Lyons Township High School District 204 staff reported that a March RFP to provide regular‑education bus service produced a single bid — from incumbent First Student — covering a cooperative of 11 districts that share paired routes.
Bridal (Brian) Staczek and other staff explained the cooperative approach was designed to preserve paired routes that reduce cost by allowing buses to serve multiple districts in a day. They said the RFP process reflected a state law change effective Jan. 1, 2024, that limits contract terms to 10 years unless a majority of the fleet is electric.
First Student's bid included a proposed 21 percent increase in the first year; staff said the district has negotiated back and forth with First Student to explore alternatives, but options that reduce the first‑year increase often produce higher total costs over a five‑year window. Staff described typical market reasons for the higher first‑year price: regionally concentrated depots, fleet acquisition costs and higher employee pay and signing bonuses since COVID.
Staff said they had been negotiating with First Student and expected a contract could be finalized for June, although May 19 was called "doubtful". The proposed contract structure discussed was a five‑year agreement with the first year set by the bid price and later years limited to CPI increases. Staff said the district would include performance clauses and service standards in the contract to address missed or late routes.
Board members asked about options to create in‑house transportation or to solicit bids from other providers. Staff said owning a fleet would require a depot, mechanics and staffing and is generally more expensive than contracting; removing the district from the multi‑district cooperative could disrupt pairings and raise net costs.
Staff flagged labor and staffing as drivers of higher costs: mechanics and drivers are scarcer than before, and hourly rates have increased materially since COVID. The district will return with a finalized contract and details of the proposed increases if negotiations finish in time for a June board action.
