Mendon-Upton committee approves two-year extension with Telstones & Sons for student transportation

The Mendon-Upton Regional School District school committee voted to approve a two-year extension of its student-transportation contract with Telstones & Sons, accepting a proposed reduction in per-bus daily pricing in the option years.

District staff said the contractor offered to lower the per-bus rate from the contract’s existing example of $640 per bus per day to $615 per bus per day in the first option year, which staff estimated would save “about a $100,000 or so in FY27” and larger savings in FY28. The committee discussed the extension’s cost savings, driver availability and the contractor’s newer fleet before moving to a vote.

Speaker 12, who led the procurement briefing, described the district’s procurement history and the rationale for exercising the extension rather than reissuing a bid: “We haven’t in 15 years. No other district ever gets more than 1 bid… they’re not gonna beat these prices here.” He also noted the company proposed further reductions in the second option year and that the contractor recently replaced key staff: “The new person is… Crystal Holmes. So far, she’s been doing a great job.”

Committee members asked for additional detail on the optional late-bus line in the contract, noting community interest in occasional after-school service and uncertainty about pricing and routing. Speaker 12 said the district would “explore the option and see what the options are” and that late-bus service would likely be outside the reduced pricing in the extension.

Speaker 2 moved to approve the extension; the motion was seconded and carried by voice vote. Staff will provide the printed contract for signatures.

What’s next: Staff will finalize the written extension for signature and return with any refinements or cost breakdowns requested by the committee; the committee asked staff to obtain specific late-bus cost estimates before making any separate commitment to run that service.