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D59 staff outline transportation bid options and cost pressures as board prepares to vote next month
Summary
District staff presented a transportation bid tabulation and outlined cost pressures, including presenter-cited figures that Durham was the lowest responsible bidder and an example rate change of about 18.77%. Staff flagged consolidation in the regional market and discussed schedule-change scenarios that could yield up to roughly $0.8–$1.0 million in savings.
District staff presented a detailed transportation bid tabulation at the March 11 board meeting and said a formal award recommendation will come to the board next month.
Mohsen (speaker 13), who led the transportation presentation, said the district’s tabulation shows Durham as the lowest responsible bidder — read aloud in the meeting as "22,000,000 and some change." He emphasized that the board is not required to select the absolute lowest bidder if other considerations (safety, financial stability, references, required bonds and insurance) affect responsibility and long-term service.
Mohsen said the market has consolidated and that vendor pricing is under upward pressure; he cited an example rate change figure of 18.77% in the presentation when comparing current and proposed rates. He walked the board through fleet utilization and noted the district currently uses about 70 buses and that route configuration (single, double, triple tiers) affects efficiency and cost.
The presentation included an analysis of bell-schedule scenarios. Mohsen said reverting to the district’s pre-2023–24 schedule could reduce transportation costs substantially; he characterized gross potential savings in the range of several hundred thousand dollars up to about $1 million depending on how special-education reimbursement offsets and other factors were counted. He explicitly stressed this was an information item, not a recommendation: "we are not implementing anything — this is resource information for the instructional leadership to consider."
Board members asked how long contracts run and whether Durham currently serves nearby districts; Mohsen said typical transportation contracts are three years with two one-year extensions and that Durham serves several nearby districts, including District 300 and West Aurora, per references the district checked.
What’s next: Staff plan to return a formal recommendation for contract award at the next board meeting and to continue coordination with existing providers and drivers to minimize service disruption during any vendor transition.
