Contract Proposed to Acquire School Buses for In-House Driver Model

FRAMINGHAM - Members of the Framingham City Council and School Committee have been asked to approve a contract for the acquisition of school buses in order to facilitate an in-house bus driver model locally.

Officials with Framingham Public Schools (FPS) have worked for months to initiate a system that would make school bus drivers municipal employees, as opposed to employees of a transportation vendor. Those efforts have come amid continued bus driver shortages that have impacted transportation to and from classes; the city’s current contract with NRT Bus, Inc. calls for 77 drivers to serve local students, though just 53 drivers began the current school year back in September.

A November 25 memo from FPS’ Executive Director of Finance and Operations Lincoln Lynch addressed to members of the City Council and School Committee asked local leaders to approve a five year lease-to-own agreement with Anderson Motors worth nearly $2.5 million for the acquisition of 72 buses.

The city would own the buses without a buyout clause or additional fees, with the exclusion of maintenance and operating expenses, after five years of payments to Anderson. The deal would start on July 1, which is when school leaders are aiming to start the in-house employment model.

The leased buses would cost about $2.35 million, according to the quoted price in the November 25 memo. Maintenance was budgeted at $1,000 per bus for the 72 vehicles. Registration, documentation, and state inspections are quoted at an additional $72,000. The quote in the Anderson proposal includes camera and software installations for bus tracking resources provided to parents and guardians, along with inspections.

Lynch urged the City Council and School Committee to take action on this matter quickly, since the school district has to ensure that vehicles are ready by the time summer programming begins for kids in Framingham.

During the City Council meeting on Tuesday, December 3, members like Adam Steiner of District 3 and District 5’s Noval Alexander opined that the contract should be seen as an investment opportunity for Framingham: a chance to own buses for an extended period of time at a feasible price following the contract’s expiration. District 9 City Councilor Tracey Bryant expressed her support for the effort made by the School Committee and other education officials in alleviating the transportation problem.

“Even if it doesn’t work out perfectly, we’re no worse off than we are now,” Bryant said.

“It can’t get much worse, really.”

At-Large City Council member George King contended that while students do need a better system in place to bring them to and from school, and that while he does not see the contract included in Lynch’s memo as bad in a vacuum, he is unsure that this proposed solution has been fully vetted. He added his belief that other options should be considered before legislators commit to the in-house model on the table, so that any unintended consequences such as increased costs to the city are avoided.

“If you sat here tonight and told me, ‘It absolutely works because of A, B, and C, and we’ll get all our kids to school on time,’ it’s probably worth it; I probably would support it,” King continued.

“But I am not convinced at all that this has seen nearly the daylight that it should.”

District 1 City Councilor Christine Long and fellow At-Large Council member Janet Leombruno echoed sentiments similar to King’s on Tuesday.

King made a motion to table the topic for a meeting on Tuesday, December 10, so that councilors would be able to understand the legal ramifications during an executive session and to acquire additional details, while still trying to be swift enough to provide school officials with an answer.

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