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School Committee backs five-year lease-to-own plan to support in-house busing transition
Summary
Committee members unanimously approved a motion to support a five-year lease-to-own contract for school buses to enable Framingham's transition to in-house busing; union representatives urged better pay and clearer communications for drivers and monitors.
The Framingham School Committee voted unanimously Dec. 4 to support the administration's recommendation to move forward with a five-year lease-to-own arrangement for school buses to facilitate a transition to an in-house transportation operation.
Committee members described the vote as a needed step to ensure buses are procured in time for summer programming and a July 1 service start. Superintendent Dr. Bob Tremblay told the committee the district has long planned to move to in-house busing and that the outstanding question discussed at a recent City Council meeting was whether to continue a leased vendor model or adopt a lease-to-own option.
Tiffany Maskal (Dist. 7) and William Labarge (Dist. 9) pushed back on City Council criticisms that the committee had not conducted due diligence; Maskal called the council remarks "disgusting" and said the committee had repeatedly worked on the issue. Adam Freiberg and other members urged administration to include prior memos, transition slides and the city solicitor's correspondence in the City Council packet so councilors have the same materials the committee reviewed.
Jim Marks, Teamsters business agent representing bus drivers and monitors, urged the committee to communicate clearly with drivers and monitors about the transition and to reconsider monitor wages, saying monitors "deal with kids that are spitting, hitting...and we're just asking you to look at that wage." Dr. Tremblay acknowledged the monitors' work and thanked them for attending; William Labarge thanked union staff for patience during the process.
The motion to "support the recommendation to move forward with a five-year lease-to-own contract on terms and conditions satisfactory to the mayor" was moved by Tiffany Maskal and seconded by William Labarge. The roll-call vote recorded all nine members voting yes; the committee recorded the outcome as unanimous approval.
The transcript uses both "Anderson" and "Andersen" when naming the vendor; the packet and final vendor naming were not specified in the discussion. The administration said Lincoln Lynch will attend the City Council meeting to present financial details and the district will continue coordinating with city officials on procurement and timelines.
