Iowa City schools recommend accepting sole bid from Iowa Central for student transportation

District staff recommended that the Iowa City Community School District accept a sole bid from its current contractor, Iowa Central, to provide student transportation after a request-for-proposals process produced only that single responsive offer.

Adam, district staff leading the RFP process, told the Operations Committee that the district published a full RFP, held an initial meeting attended by three companies and conducted a question-and-answer period. “In the end, we did only end up getting one bid for this service, and it was from Iowa Central, our current provider,” Adam said.

The bid includes an average annual cost increase of about 4.3 percent, staff said, with a larger increase in the 2026–27 school year tied to the provider’s negotiations with its employees. “The cost structure … really reflects a 4 percent, slightly over 4…