Busing contract proposal nearly ready for review

By Harold Gwin

Michael Murphy said the committee has been getting conflicting legal advice.

YOUNGSTOWN — The chairman of the city school board’s business committee said he hopes to have a special-education transportation contract ready for the full board to review Tuesday.

Michael Murphy, speaking at a special school board meeting Wednesday, said his committee expects to come up with a recommendation when it meets Monday.

The district is running out of time to get a new contract in place.

The old one expired Tuesday, but it takes about a month to get routes and schedules worked out, warned Wendy Webb, superintendent, noting that the matter needs to be resolved within the next few weeks.

Board member Anthony Catale said he won’t be prepared to vote on a contract Tuesday if the committee recommendation isn’t made until Monday. That’s not enough time to digest the information, he said.

Shelley Murray, board president, indicated that the contract could come up for a vote at the July 22 board meeting.

Murphy said he had hoped to have a recommendation come out of a business committee meeting Tuesday, but that didn’t happen. A large contingent of district employees represented by the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees showed up at the session but made no comment, he noted.

AFSCME members have been concerned that possible changes in transportation and food services could affect their jobs.

The district got only one bidder in its request for proposals for the special-needs transportation contract. That came from Community Bus Services Inc. of Youngstown, the same company that held the old contract.

The district requested proposals for a three-year contract with three, one-year renewal options.

CBS submitted several proposals, but the one being examined most closely by the business committee is a five-year agreement that could be tied to a transportation management services agreement.

CBS is offering to provide service at the same $2.4 million annual cost, but is also offering a management services proposal as part of that deal that it guarantees will save the district $1 million off its annual $5.5 million total transportation bill.

The district would maintain its own employees and the AFSCME contract would remain in place, but there would be bus route and other workplace changes to produce the $1 million savings.

If the district doesn’t save $1 million off that $5.5 million figure, CBS will make up the difference, the company said.

Murphy said the committee has received conflicting legal advice from attorneys, some saying there are no problems accepting a management contract and at least one other cautioning that the district might be opening itself to employee grievances and a possible lawsuit by turning management over to someone else.

gwin@vindy.com