District projects big savings from specialized transportation RFPs; union MOA establishes new non-CDL operator class

The Manchester School District presented proposals aimed at reducing specialized student-transportation costs and voted to approve a memorandum of agreement (MOA) with the Amalgamated Transit Union to support expansion of in-house services.

Forrest Risdell, assistant superintendent for operations, described the results of an RFP for specialized transportation. He said the district currently serves roughly 1,060 students in specialized transportation (December 2024) and that most services were provided by a mix of contracted vendors, with Easterseals as the largest single outside provider.

Two responsive proposals would replace a portion of the current vendor pool, the presenter said. "Proposal 1 was submitted by Safe Wheels in conjunction with Mr. Sees," the presenter reported, and "Proposal 2 was submitted by Anewcom's Transportation as a single entity." The Safe Wheels/Mr. Sees proposal estimated serving about 300 students with a fleet up to 56 vehicles and a flat charge of $975 per route vehicle per day; Anewcom's proposed 15 vehicles with an hourly flat rate.

The presentation included comparative per-student figures. The presenter summarized: "The current average daily cost per student served by the 10 specialized providers is $171.25. Projecting for year 26 costs utilizing the current proposals ... would bring the yearly cost to $4,856,999 or $7,444,752. The overall projected reduction will be 21% to 51% reduction." Those reduced ranges reflect different assumptions about how many runs vendors can combine and how much the district can absorb in-house over time.

Nut graf: The district said implementing the awarded vendor contracts and growing in-house capacity could sharply reduce specialized-transportation spending, a recurring multi-million-dollar line in the budget; the committee approved moving forward with the agreements and also approved union-level changes to enable use of non-CDL drivers for some runs.

Separately, the committee considered a tentative MOA with the Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) to create a new job classification and clarify assignment and guarantee rules as the district expands in-house services. Risdell said the MOA establishes two job classifications: "school bus operator 1 CDL" (existing drivers) and "school bus operator 2 non CDL" (a new job class). He said the wage for operator 2 would be 85% of the operator 1 CDL wage, reflecting the different licensure requirements. "The wage for school bus operator 2 non CDL will be 85% of the wage for school bus operator 1 CDL," Risdell stated on the record.

The MOA also reestablishes a two-hour reporting guarantee for some work (distinct from a three-hour guarantee available to other operators) and sets seniority and route-pick procedures. The presentation said the two-hour guarantee would not be available to any operator who opts to accept district benefits; district staff said the agreement has no immediate negative fiscal impact and could yield savings as non-CDL operators are deployed for appropriate runs.

Committee members asked whether the planned vehicle purchases would include smaller vans for some routes; staff answered that the district is moving toward a mixed fleet and that additional presentations to the athletics committee and future facility/planning discussions will cover vehicle-sizing and operations.

Ending: The finance committee approved the transportation procurement approach and the MOA; staff said contracts would return to the committee/board for signatures and implementation steps, and the district will continue to onboard drivers and vehicles to realize projected savings.