Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Transportation topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Valley View Local board approves 10-year transportation contract with First Student; district to add bus tracking tech
Summary
The Valley View Local Board approved a 10-year transportation services contract with First Student after administrators said four firms responded to an RFP and First Student scored highest. The contract includes about a 1% cost increase next year and added onboard technology to allow parents to see routes.
The Valley View Local Board of Education voted to approve a 10-year contract with First Student for student transportation after administrators said the district ran a formal request for proposals and evaluated four bids.
Administration told the board the responses were scored on a 100-point scale across pricing, quality, experience and training, and that First Student ranked highest in the evaluation and subsequent negotiations. "We have been a formal request for proposal for our transportation services. We're looking for a 10 year contract," an administration representative said, adding the district entered a negotiation period and reached a contract recommendation for the board to approve.
Officials said the contract carries an approximately 1% cost increase for the coming year and will include additional onboard technology to let families see bus routes and locations during inclement weather. "With this, there is a 1% cost increase for next year and we also, will be getting some additional technology, with these buses that we currently don't have," the administration said.
Board members moved and seconded the recommendation and the approval was recorded by roll call in the meeting transcript with affirmative responses from board members. The transcript records the motion, second and a roll-call sequence of "Yes" responses but does not include a detailed numeric tally of present versus absent members.
The superintendent, in her comments later in the meeting, reiterated that the technology would help families track buses and receive timeliness information on tough-weather days. The district did not provide in the meeting packet a copy of the final contract in the transcript; questions about implementation timing and specific vendor deliverables were not addressed on the record.
Next steps: The administration will finalize contract documents with First Student and oversee rollout of the new on-bus technology; the transcript records no further board conditions or amendments attached to the approval.
