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SOUTH KINGSTOWN - The school system’s bus contractor will change this fall as officials this week awarded the transportation contract to a different company. For the last few months, school transportation has been in the news as drivers and the existing contractor, DATTCO, came to loggerheads over union contracts for teachers and aides.
The awarding of the bid has been a hot topic for school officials and bus companies and at Tuesday night’s school committee meeting the bid was awarded. Superintendent Robert Hicks recommended awarding the transportation bid to First Student, which previously held a 10-year contract with the town. The bid totalled $3,267,684 which is a $63,800 reduction from First Students’ initial bid but still about $567,000 above the $2.7 million budgeted for the FY 2008-2009. “I will bring budget recommendations to the school committee. My expectation is that First Student will be able to draw on their large Rhode Island operational base to assure full staffing and complete, on-time service to our families,” Hicks said. Hicks admitted First Student was not the low bid, but was the best course of action in assuring the system’s transportation needs are met. One option for the committee was to exercise the two-year extension with DATTCO. This was rejected because Hicks said it would probably result in litigation over the cost of the contract extension. In a memo to committee members, Hicks said DATTCO’s capacity to provide quality service under he extension has been problematic. The other option was to award DATTCO the contract for $3 million for 2008-09, $3.3 million in the following year and $3.7 million in the final year of the proposal. Hicks recommended against this idea because of DATTCO’s recent difficulty in adequately staffing the system. The company transports about 3,400 students for South Kingstown and has had problems delivering students on time. Committee member Kevin Jackson said it’s a good idea to lock in a bid now and avoid having to go out to bid again in two years. “I am glad we are locking in some cost certainty for the next few years,” Jackson said. Jackson also asked about rising fuel costs and Hicks said that fuel was at the risk of the contractor and the bid price would not go up. Hicks said First Student is a large provider serving roughly 80 percent of Rhode Island with a broad base of drivers across the state and a strong bus base. “We are looking forward to a positive beginning and a positive relationship over time,” Hicks said about the new contractor. The committee unanimously approved the bid recommendation. In other business: - The committee extended their thanks and gratitude to three longtime retirees: Brian “Butch” Mcnulty who has done maintenance in the school department since 1973, Elvia Purnell who is a English Language Learning Teacher and has taught in every school in South Kingstown since 1989 and Bernice Simmons who is a first-grade teacher at Peace Dale and has been since 1990. n The committee and Hicks welcomed the new assistant principal at the high school, Robert Young, Jr. Young comes from the Providence school system but is a South Kingstown resident and parent. He replaces Terrence Lynch. - Xiansheng Yin, a guest speaker form China, gave a presentation and spoke of his year spent visiting the South Kingstown School System. The students in the elementary and middle schools have been given an introduction to the Chinese language and culture through Yin. “I shared with the students Chinese culture and they were very glad,” said Yin. Next year, the Chinese language (Mandarin) will be offered to students by Yin who will return next fall. Yin will be leaving in two weeks and Hicks and the committee thanked him for all he had done for the students. “This has been a wonderful experience for not only our students but for our community,” |
