The Philomath School Board voted unanimously Monday night to select First Student Inc. as the school district’s new student transportation provider, ending a 15-year relationship with Mid Columbia Bus Co. and setting the stage for a transition that must be completed before the start of the 2026-27 school year.
The vote, taken during a special meeting that lasted just six minutes, formally accepted First Student’s proposal and directed Superintendent Susan Halliday to begin contract negotiations with the company.
The district’s current contract with Mid Columbia expires at the end of the current school year. First Student’s five-year contract would take effect July 1.
The board action came after a protest filed by Mid Columbia delayed a vote that had originally been scheduled for an earlier meeting. The district met with Mid Columbia following the protest.
“We went through all the scoring proposals and had what I felt was a great conversation,” Halliday said. “The end result was ‘I’m not going to push it and we’re here to help you if you need us and we’ll work with you and make the transition seamless.'”
Mid Columbia and First Student responded to a formal Request for Proposals process that launched in January. An evaluation committee comprising district administration, staff and one board member reviewed and scored both proposals across several criteria, including cost, safety records, fleet age and maintenance, driver recruitment and retention strategies, parent and family communication strategies, and overall experience. The committee also conducted interviews with representatives from each company on March 6.
First Student emerged as the top scorer, earning 185 out of a possible 200 points compared to 120 for Mid Columbia.
Board member Sandi Hering, who served on the evaluation committee, said the decision was clear-cut.
“I absolutely support this recommendation,” Hering said. “There were many, many reasons that we felt like First Student was the one. But as a committee, yes, we were all very much in agreement.”
Safety and training rose to the top as key factors in the committee’s recommendation.
“After sitting on this committee, I think what really, really persuaded us a lot was the training and the safety factors that First Student offered,” Hering said. “They really exceeded what we had in the past — and the new technology and the new fleet.”
District officials pointed to First Student’s technology package — including a proprietary system called HALO — as a significant advantage over the competing proposal. The platform provides 360-degree visibility and integrates artificial intelligence cameras, predictive analytics and real-time data to support drivers and inform parents.
“The system integrates their cameras so we can talk about getting any discipline footage faster,” Halliday said. “Each of the buses, they say, will be engineered with a tablet — and of course once the driver starts going, the tablet turns black so it’s not a distraction — but it’s a communication tool and it will keep track of miles and all kinds of things. So there’s some good data information that we can look at both receiving from the district side and that parents can look at receiving.”
Transportation costs will increase under the new contract, though Halliday noted the two proposals were financially comparable to each other.
“The proposals were pretty even financially,” she said, adding that the cost differential was not the deciding factor. Halliday also noted that the state reimburses the district for 70% of home-to-school and educational transportation costs, softening the budgetary impact.
The district plans to incorporate the increased transportation expense into its 2026-27 budget.
Halliday expressed confidence that the timeline, while tight, is manageable. She noted that First Student has identified a location for its local operations base — along Clemens Mill Road near Mid-Valley Gravel.
“In their proposal, they listed their site and so they had already scoped out a place before they even submitted,” Halliday said.
Mid Columbia’s current drivers will have the opportunity to transfer to First Student. As for bus routes, Halliday said families can expect continuity with any changes to be determined through a collaborative process.
“What we’ll do is we’ll drive with them to be able to see if they want any adjustments,” she said. “But I can’t imagine there’s going to be any huge changes.”
Families will receive information about the transition during student registration and route details will be posted online.
Mid Columbia has held the district’s transportation contract since 2010, when it succeeded First Student — which had provided busing services for nine years prior. First Student itself had acquired the contract from Olson Bus Co., which served Philomath students for 41 years before selling its contract in 2001.
Halliday expressed gratitude to the outgoing provider while acknowledging the rationale for the change.
“We appreciate Mid Columbia and the work they’ve done for us,” she said. “We felt like it was time after 15 years to take a look and really make some good calls about what we felt was needed at this point in time.”
She also recognized Business Manager Jennifer Griffith for her leadership throughout the RFP process.
In other business Monday, the board approved a motion to deny two claims brought against the school district. Board members had met in executive session prior to the vote. The nature of the claims was not made public.
