Ohio County board approves one-month extension for bus-routing vendor to finish route modeling

The Ohio County Board of Education voted March 23 to approve a one-month renewal of an expired bus-routing services agreement so staff and the vendor can finish final route modeling and clean up rider and stop data.

Board discussion centered on whether to extend the contract month-to-month to resolve outstanding questions after an initial year of work. "I was gonna ask for an additional month for $4,007.50," President Croft said when putting the proposal on the table. Committee members said the vendor had provided particularly helpful AI-driven iterations and modeling during the first year and that a short renewal would allow the district to complete work already under way without committing to a long-term contract.

The motion to extend the contract for an additional month passed at the meeting. Board members said the extra month would let staff and the vendor run final scenarios, answer outstanding questions about start times and specialized routes, and wrap up data entry for stops and ridership.

Board materials and committee members noted the district initially accepted a lower introductory price in exchange for serving as a case study; some board members asked staff to confirm whether the base modules and services could be procured through a different contracting route if needed. The board asked staff to report back with a short status update at the work session.

The board did not provide a formal roll-call vote tally in the public record included in the transcript, but the motion carried in the meeting.