Tuesday, August 18, 2009
YOUNGSTOWN — The city school board’s business committee wants to talk to just two of the five companies that sent in proposals to help the district revamp its student- transportation program.
Only one of the two actually responded directly to the criteria found in the school district’s request for proposals for transportation- consulting services.
That is Community Bus Services Inc. of Youngstown, which also offered a guaranteed $500,000-per-year savings on the district’s $5 million cost of transportation.
The other company being asked to meet with the committee is Education Logistics Inc. of Missoula, Mont., which proposed doing only a no-cost operational assessment of Youngstown’s transportation program.
Jacqueline Taylor, a member of the business committee, said she was interested in having that study done as it could lead to other possible savings.
The other committee members, Lock P. Beachum Sr. and Michael Murphy, agreed, even though Education Logistics didn’t specifically respond to the terms of the request for proposals.
The district had asked for digital video-recording and global-positioning-system units for 60 buses, computer software for bus routing and maintenance as well as employee payroll and general support and consulting services. The district wants all of that at a cost less than it is now spending for student transportation.
Community Bus Service offered all of those at no cost, along with the $500,000 savings guarantee, if the school board will extend its current special-needs student-transportation contract with the company beyond its 2011 expiration date to June 30, 2016.
CBS is being paid slightly more than $1.6 million a year with 3.8 percent annual increases built into the current contract.
The committee and the school board have made it clear that the district will maintain control of all facets of student transportation. Any contract would be consulting services only.
The committee decided it won’t meet with VanHool Specialist of Midland, Texas, because that company would want to completely take over busing, removing the district from that process.
VanHool would provide everything the district asked for at a cost of just over $4.3 million a year for six years.
Nor will the committee seek meetings with FirstAmerica of Cincinnati, which asked for $75,000 to do an action-plan study, or TransPar Group Inc. of Lee’s Summit, Mo., which offered a $72,000-a-year consulting and program- management contract.
Murphy, committee chairman, said the committee wants to meet with Education Logistics and CBS on Monday.
gwin@vindy.com