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The Dunkirk City School District will rebid its busing contract, a move spurred by the bus company over soaring expenses.
Timothy Abbey, director of buildings, grounds and transportation, said at a Board of Education meeting this month the district will do its first bus contract rebid since 1991, when it got into private busing.
The contract is currently held by First Student, formerly Laidlaw. It was originally awarded at $278,929 for 11 routes; more than 30 years later, it's up to $714,744, an increase of 64%.
"That's around a 2% increase per year which is really good if you can contain it to that," Abbey said.
First Student's service "is what gets about 900 of our kids to school," Abbey said. "What transpired is... COVID, and the jump in wages for drivers and aides and all those sorts of things. We share a terminal with Fredonia schools, in Fredonia, for the contractor. That's what makes it beneficial for a large contractor to bid. This would be considered a really, really small bus operation for a private contractor - but what makes it profitable is they can combine resources at one terminal."
Fredonia's school district was told by First Student last year it wanted a rebid - and the company has notified Dunkirk it wants to do the same, Abbey continued.
"The only reason the contractor would rebid is if it wants more money," he said of the Fredonia rebid. First Student netted a new contract with that district.
According to Abbey, by state law, bus contractors must increase charges to school districts according to a consumer price index. If a contractor thinks its expenses will go above the index, it has to seek a rebid.
"Basically they are taking a gamble that they're going to get the contract back. They do want the contract back... they're not bailing on us or anything like that," Abbey said.
He added, "I think having the Fredonia contract secure makes the market look not as good for another bidder. It betters their chances of bidding for us."
Abbey acknowledged that Buffalo-based bus firms do not have terminals in Chautauqua County and might not find it profitable to run here.
Dunkirk will work with a firm to put out a Request for Proposals. "A lot of things have changed since 1991, so we get the opportunity now to add things that didn't exist in 1991," Abbey said. He will seek cameras and GPS routing software in the contract specifications.
The new contract will go into effect July 1 for the 2024-25 school year and will run for five years.