Multi-District Bus Proposal On School Board Agenda

At tonight's meeting, scheduled for 7 p.m. at Ferri Middle School, members of the are expected to consider a plan that would consolidate the town's bus contract with other communities in the area.

Supt. Dr. Bernard DiLullo is expected ask the school board to issue a Request for Proposals with other communities for bus services. In an e-mail message Tuesday afternoon, DiLullo said the local school board would be following a state proposal "that communities come together to combine contracts to get the best rates possible on services such as transportation."

At this point, the concept is in the planning stage, DiLullo added: "The RFP has not been written yet and the communities not officially identified."

The Johnston School Department is currently in the final year of a three-year contract signed with Durham Student Services in 2007.

DiLullo confirmed that the district is spending about $3.5 million this year to transport students to the local public schools, special education programs, private schools, and vocational programs.

Also on the published agenda for tonight's meeting is a plan to convert the Johnston High School heating system to a more efficient gas-powered system. Representatives from National Grid were not present for the school board's last meeting in February, so the item was tabled at that time.

Watch JohnstonPatch for reports from this meeting.

Correction: Following Dr. DiLullo's notification that the $4.5 million figure he originally provided was incorrect, the cost for transportation in Johnston was changed in this article to the correct amount of $3.5 million.