Politics & Government

School Board Awards New Bus Contract to First Student

At a special Apr. 26 meeting, school committee members approved a $1.9 million contract for busing, the Johnston Sun Rise reported.

 

Johnston School Committee members recently approved a new bus contract with First Student, replacing Durham Student Services, the Johnston Sun Rise reported.

The committee held a special meeting on Apr. 26 to approve the three-year pact with , formerly the Laidlaw bus company, which is valued at $1.9 million for the first year.

Find out what's happening in Johnstonwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Durham had provided busing for Johnston since 2007, and was in the fifth option year of an original four-year deal.

After approving a plan to pursue a regional bus program last spring, school committee members instead extended the Durham contract into a fifth year in July.

Find out what's happening in Johnstonwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

With a $345,000 difference between their approved spending proposal and Mayor Joseph Polisena's stated plan to keep town departments level-funded, the school board had been looking to reduce costs for fiscal 2012 though contract negotiations.

According to school department budget documents, the original line items for busing totaled $3.6 million for fiscal 2012, with about $1.4 million paying for the transportation of about 2,100 students to local schools and the rest covering private and vocational school busing.

The school board has yet to finalize new teachers and food service contracts.

 

Clarification: Following our interview with Supt Bernard DiLullo, we posted an article explaining the apparent discrepancy between the $1.9 million contract awarded to First Student and the current spending for transportation: http://patch.com/A-tg92


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