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District seeks new transportation contract; board discusses electric buses, training and performance metrics
Summary
Roseville Area Schools put transportation out to bid and received three proposals; the board discussed negotiations, electric buses, student safety training requirements and how the district will track compliance and performance.
Executive Director of Business Services Sherry Thompson told the Roseville Area School Board at its April 8 meeting that the district put school transportation out for bid for the first time in several years and received three proposals that staff are now analyzing.
Thompson said she has met two bidders in person and planned further meetings with the third. She told the board she expects to return with a recommendation at the next April meeting or the first May meeting, and that the district plans to negotiate as part of the next step.
Board members and staff discussed operational and policy issues raised by the re-bid, including contractor performance standards (late runs and missed stops), financial penalties or remedies for repeated failures, and the district's interest in electric buses. Treasurer Clark (reporting earlier in the meeting) said the district transports about 5,500 students daily on roughly 408 bus routes.
On electric vehicles, Thompson said staff have spoken with bidders about their electric-bus experience and inventory; some contractors have been running electric buses for multiple years and shared lessons learned. Thompson said the district will consider electric buses and smaller, more efficient vehicles as part of the procurement decision and noted cost, technology readiness and available funding will factor into any final award. "It's part of our decision making review," she said.
Board members asked about required student safety training and grades covered. Thompson said state-referenced guidance and MSBA model language informed the draft policy and that the district provides annual bus-evacuation training (typically tracked at the school level) and other safety instruction; she said pedestrian, bicycle and electric-scooter safety requirements had been updated in recent legislation and the policy language follows that guidance. A board member asked whether the district documents non-bus trainings; Thompson said bus-evacuation training is tracked at each school but other trainings are not consistently documented districtwide.
Thompson and board members also discussed potential route consolidation and moving one-off program trips into regular routing to reduce cost. Thompson said the bids looked competent and negotiations would include discussions about performance standards, electric-vehicle transition readiness and routes.
No contract award was made at the meeting. Thompson said staff will return with analysis, contract terms and a recommendation in coming weeks.
