Ames district board awards transportation contract to First Student after public concern about driver pay and service continuity

The Ames Community School District Board of Education voted 5–1 to award a transportation services agreement to First Student Inc., a move staff said will reduce the district’s transportation costs substantially but that elicited concern from current contractor Durham School Services and several longtime drivers about potential pay cuts and loss of experienced staff.

The motion to approve the award to First Student was moved by Vice President Shields Cook and seconded by Board member Beerbohm; the measure passed with five votes in favor and one opposed.

District staff described a formal request-for-proposals process they said had not been run since 2015. A seven-member committee reviewed two responsive bids, scored firms on responsiveness, safety history, financial strength, references, and operations, and opened pricing envelopes only after qualitative evaluation. "When we look at the pricing, the pricing for First Student was less…