Board reviews bus-contract options as companies propose multiyear deals to ease price pressure

The Elmhurst CUSD 205 Board of Education received an informational report Dec. 17 about the district’s student-transportation contracts and options for multi‑year renewals; no award or vote was taken.

Chris (staff member) said the district’s general-education transportation is provided by First Student and special-education routes by Cottage Hill. The district has been issuing one-year extensions the last three years, during which transportation costs rose 17%, 12% and 9.9% in successive years. Staff explained that single-year renewals increase contractor price pressure and that contractors prefer a multi-year term that spreads equipment and driver costs.

Jason Wasser of ICI described the bidding and procurement process: the district posts legal notices and project documents on the ICI plan room, offers pre-bid meetings, issues addenda for bidder questions and holds a public bid opening. ICI and the architect perform scope and qualifications reviews, then submit recommendation letters to the district.

For the current renewal discussion, First Student proposed multi-year pricing while offering a one-year option that would carry a high increase. The staff memo presented three five-year options; staff said option 2 is the lowest-cost scenario overall with a 6.15% increase in year one followed by 5% increases in each of the subsequent four years. Cottage Hill offered a matching proposal. Board members asked about contract performance provisions, how parents should report bus problems (contact the school; staff will work with the vendor), and the district’s plans to redraw middle-school routes (Sandburg) to improve efficiency and student ride times.

No formal motion was made. Staff said a recommendation and final pricing will be brought later for board action after additional analysis.