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Board approves bus and van purchases and three-year transportation contracts; contractor raises review concerns
Summary
Board approved purchases of two replacement school buses and two 12-passenger vans and renewed three-year student-transportation contracts. A representative of Queen Anne Bus Line later said his company had insufficient time to review the contract language before the vote.
The Queen Anne's County Board of Education approved capital purchases and multi-year transportation contracts to maintain student transportation for the 2025–26 school year and beyond, and heard a public comment from a contractor seeking clarity on contract language.
John Murdoch, who presented the bus purchase, asked the board to approve buying two 2026 Thomas Saf-T-Liner C2 buses from American Bus Sales for $324,120 (FY26 local CIP) to replace vehicles that have reached their 15-year service lives. The board approved the purchase.
Staff also asked to buy two 12-passenger Sprinter vans (listed in the transcript as two 2024 MV Sprinter 12-passenger vans) for $123,180 (FY26 CIP) as a cost-saving option for certain special transports. Board members discussed how these vans differ from full school buses (they will not have stop-sign arms or student warning-light systems and cannot be used the same way as route buses) and affirmed that drivers and training requirements will be maintained. The board approved the van purchase.
Separately, the board approved three-year transportation contracts (Aug. 26, 2025–June 30, 2028) with four local LLCs to provide general education and special-education transportation services. Staff described the contract rates (hourly rate $29.16; mileage $1.84; $29,000 PVA; $1,200 route administrative fee) and CPI-based adjustments limited to a floor of 4% and a ceiling of 8% in subsequent years. Board members discussed whether a future in-house transportation study should be done to compare costs.
During public comment, Raymond Aaron, managing member of Queen Anne Bus Line, thanked the board but said the company only saw the contract in board documents the night before the meeting and had not had time to review new language. He said the company would submit the contract to its attorney for review and requested continued transparency; he also offered to help the district consider comparative models for public-owned versus contract transportation.
Next steps: vehicles will be procured and contracts executed; staff said they may begin a longer-term analysis of whether in-house transportation is feasible but cautioned it would take time.
