A vote on a new student transportation contract for the Philomath School District was pulled from the School Board’s agenda prior to Thursday’s meeting because of a protest that had been filed by one of the two bus companies that had submitted proposals.
First Student Inc. and Mid Columbia Bus Co. both applied and the board had been expected to award a five-year contract that would go into effect July 1. A formal Notice of Intent to Award was issued to both companies on March 9 with a mandatory protest period to close on March 16.
“We received a protest and so we didn’t feel in good conscience we could move forward without responding to the protest and following the timeline, so we pulled it off the agenda,” Philomath Superintendent of Schools Susan Halliday said. “Both companies know that this is the process we’re in and we’ll probably want to look at a meeting in early April to be able to make sure there’s either enough front load time to be able to continue a contract or to ramp up depending upon what the final determination is.”
Actually, it appears that the topic could be discussed as early as next week. Later in the evening, the board decided to schedule an executive session for either Wednesday or Thursday as part of an unrelated public complaint hearing. Since the board members will convene for that process, they decided to go ahead and also schedule a short public meeting on the transportation contract issue on the same evening.
“Our intent is to send a letter as soon as possible in terms of a response to the protest, so if there’s anything else that’s going to come our way, we’re on top of it,” Halliday said. “But we want to make a decision one way or the other soon rather than later.”
The district launched a formal request for proposals process in January with a Feb. 27 closing date. 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.
According to a summary that appeared in an earlier version of the meeting packet, First Student had emerged as the top scorer, earning 185 out of a possible 200 points compared to 120 for Mid Columbia.
District officials cited First Student’s commitment to a newer bus fleet, robust driver training and safety protocols, and technology upgrades for families as standout elements of its proposal.
The current contract with Mid Columbia expires at the end of the current school year. The district has contracted with the company since 2010, extending the original five-year agreement twice.
First Student Inc. provided bus transportation to the district for nine years prior to Mid Columbia winning the contract. The Olson Bus Co., which had provided transportation for students for 41 years, sold its contract with the school district to First Student Inc. in 2001.