November 8, 2011
By Rhonda Reed-Slaughter
The Valley View school board is scheduled to vote on whether to outsource the District's bus service to a 3rd party on December 12, 2011.
Instead of expressing an opinion either way, The Number Crunchers decided to invite the community's input by publishing 10 questions that can be answered by the school district.
The questions were presented to Assistant Superintendent, Gary Grizaffi on Monday, November 8, 2011.
We appreciate his input, and hope the answers will help you decide for yourself whether the school board should move forward with outsourcing the bus service.
Here's the list of questions and answers.
Question #1
The $855k in estimated savings is for labor only. Will hiring cheaper labor ensure safer drivers?
The District is comparing the "overall" cost to run transportation in-house to RFP proposals.
Labor's not the only cost savings they are looking at. They are looking at the overall cost of operations (including worker's compensation) of $1.2 million.
All drivers are expected to be qualified.
QUESTION 2
Is it true, FIRST STUDENT CORPORATION (3rd pty with lowest bid) provided transportation to VVSD's handicapped students several years ago, and the District terminated the contract due to poor service?
Grizaffi was not employed with the district during that time, and don't have detail.
He points out, the District transports 10,000 students daily, and will do their best to get students home safely. Whether the busing is in-house, or outsourced.
QUESTION 3
Have any of the 3rd parties submitted a Safety Data Report to the board? Will you require this report before deciding on which company to contract with?
Yes. A Safety Data Index report was provided to the District as part of the RFP.
QUESTION 4
Will the 3rd party service provider be required to hire some (if not all) existing bus drivers?
Public Act 95-0241 require 3rd party contractors for non-instructional services to offer employment to all qualified transportation employees.
VVSD Transportation Department has a staff of 250. There are 192 drivers, 8 mechanics and 42 monitors.
QUESTION 5
Is it true, Bob Rutkowski is the General Manager for First Student Corporation? If so, did Bob Rutkowski once serve as President of VVSD board?
Yes to both questions.
QUESTION 6
Is it true, the District plans on keeping 5 employees (from transportation) to serve as administrators? 2 of the employees currently earn very high salaries? The combined salaries are approximately $200k?
The district plans to keep 4 employees from transportation.
Yes. 2 of the employees earn high salaries.
QUESTION 7
Is it true, the BUS BARN (where all of the buses are maintained) was built in 2006 for approximately $7 million?
Yes. The 11-acre combined-use facility not only holds the 172 school buses, but also, the tractors, trucks and maintenance facility.
QUESTION 8
Is it true, VVSD owns the lease to all of the buses?
Yes.
QUESTION 9
Is it true, VVSD plans to allow the 3rd party to use the leased buses to transport students?
If the District decides to outsource the busing service, the 3rd party will be required to purchase the buses. The leasing agreement will be terminated.
QUESTION 10
Is it true, VVSD plans on paying for the fuel? The district pays approximately $900k a year.
As a school district, they do not pay taxes associated with fuel purchases. If the for-profit entity were to take over busing, and purchase fuel, they would be charged taxes.
The district saves approximately $65k in taxes associated with fuel purchases.
QUESTION 11
If so, wouldn't it be cheaper to have the 3rd party bus service purchase fuel at a cheaper price? After all, they are in the transport business, they have more vehicles on the road and can negotiate lower rates.
If the 3rd party were to purchase fuel, they would be taxed. Overall, it's cheaper to have the district pay for fuel, since they are exempt from taxes.