Manchester School Committee panel authorizes RFP for up to five vehicles for athletics

Chair Joel O'Connell opened the Special Committee on Athletics by introducing the meeting—s single agenda item: transportation procedures for athletics and extracurriculars. Assistant Superintendent Kelly Espinola reviewed statutory and regulatory requirements and asked the committee to authorize an RFP to purchase vehicles specifically for athletics.

Espinola told the committee that "any vehicle transporting students, whether a large bus or smaller van, must be an approved school bus and meet all state inspection standards." She said drivers of mixed-use school buses or vans driven by school employees must meet extensive requirements, including a valid driver—s license, a medical exam, fingerprinting and criminal-history checks, participation in drug and alcohol testing, and annual training and rostering through the Department of Safety.

Espinola summarized other driver qualifications: "Drivers must be 18 years old for in-state travel or 21 for interstate travel, hold a U.S. license for at least two years, and maintain a clean driving record." She also noted training and testing expectations, including a written DMV exam (passing score of 80) and initial and renewal annual training hours.

Staff explained that the ATU collective bargaining agreement (the district—s incumbent bus-driver contract) currently prohibits using non-bus-driver personnel for charter work. Espinola said any change allowing staff or coaches to transport students on yellow buses would require a memorandum of understanding or changes through collective bargaining; the ATU contract is effective through 06/30/2026.

To reduce cancellations, early dismissals and the long delays families and teams have experienced, Espinola asked the committee to authorize the district to develop and issue an RFP to purchase four to five 10-passenger vans to be used exclusively for extracurricular and athletic travel and kept separate from the home-to-school fleet and the MOU with the union.

Courtney Medeiros, training coordinator for transportation, addressed safety and regulatory limits on vehicle size. She said multipurpose passenger vehicles are typically limited to 10 passengers for home-to-school use and cautioned that 12- and 14-passenger vans previously allowed under COVID waivers have a higher tip-over risk. Medeiros also explained the alternative of purchasing small school buses that can be outfitted and painted National School Bus Yellow, which would increase capacity and could later be used for special-needs or smaller home-to-school routes.

Committee members asked about costs and timing. Staff estimated around $45,000 for a minivan and approximately $100,000 for a 14-passenger bus equipped as a school vehicle. The administration said it would explore budget line items, community partnerships and outside funding to offset purchase costs and target a three-month procurement period with the goal of vehicles being in service by January 2026 if procurement proceeds on that timeline.

Committee discussion also emphasized two distinct constraint points: (1) state statutes and safety rules that govern what vehicles can be used and how many passengers they can legally carry, and (2) the district—s inherited union contract terms that limit use of staff or coaches for charter work. Chair O'Connell and other members urged administration to negotiate proactively with the ATU, explore MOUs where appropriate and consider legislative advocacy if statutory limits are a barrier.

The committee ultimately approved a motion, moved by Committee member Parr and seconded by Committee member Bergeron, "to authorize the issuance of an RFP for the purchase of up to 5 vehicles, with the sizes of the vehicles to be determined by the administration," and to send the matter to the full School Committee for approval. The chair called a voice vote and declared, "The ayes have it." The committee separately discussed—but did not formalize in a motion at this meeting—administration—s work on a potential MOU with the ATU to explore allowing coaches to serve as part of a driving pool.

Committee members and staff agreed the work would proceed in coordination with upcoming contract negotiations and that administration would return to the full board with an RFP recommendation and budget details.