People from three interested companies attended a pre-bid meeting at the Howard S. Fernsler Academic Center on Friday morning about the possibility of outsourcing district transportation in the Pottsville Area School District for next school year.
The district also wants to sell its fleet of vehicles as part of its proposal but intends to keep several vehicles for its own use.
The 9 a.m. meeting was held at the academic center and lasted about 10 minutes. They then went to the John S. Clarke Elementary Center, where the district houses its fleet of vehicles.
Jay Newswanger, president of R&J Transportation, Cressona, Keith F. Galloway, director of business development and acquisitions of the Atlantic Region for Durham School Services, headquartered in Warrenville, Illinois, and Allison Cumens, operations assistant with Krapf Bus Company, West Chester, attended the mandatory meeting. Superintendent Jeffrey S. Zwiebel, Stephen C. Curran, school district business manager, and Kerry Ansbach, director of facilities and transportation, also attended.
Questions were asked by those possibly interested in submitting proposals about the Global Positioning System so parents can track the buses, the age and specifications of the vehicles, questions about the maintenance area and others. The district currently does not use GPS but that is mandated in the document.
“I’m still amazed we get them all in,” Ansbach said of the 19 school buses that fit inside the garage. Other vehicles are kept outside the elementary school.
For about 30 minutes, Newswanger, Galloway and Cumens had a look inside the garage.
“Do you have a wash bay facility?” Cumens asked.
Ansbach said they had two.
Newswanger asked how the district picks up the students.
“Do you pick up every school individually?” he asked.
Ansbach said they did because in the past they tried to combine it, but it did not work. Some students are transported in vans for various reasons. Cameras are also in the vehicles. The district also has a two-way radio for communication with the drivers.
After the tour, Galloway, Cumens and Newswanger talked about their interest in the process.
Galloway said the company has 1,500 buses in Pennsylvania and provides services to some schools in York County, in the Philadelphia area, Pittsburgh and Erie and elsewhere. He decided to attend so the company could expand its reach into other counties, he said.
“I’m impressed by the operation that they are running here,” Galloway said.
He said districts usually consider outsourcing transportation to save money.
“Anytime I see an outsourcing opportunity it’s really attractive. We will certainly be participating,” he said.
Cumens said she also is impressed with the facility. Krapf Bus Company is also looking to expand, she said. They have about 1,400 buses operating in the state. They provide busing services in Red Lion, and Spring Grove, York County, and have about 200 buses in Virginia through another company.
Newswanger also said he was impressed with the transportation services the district provides. His company provides busing services in the Blue Mountain and Schuylkill Haven Area school districts and Nativity BVM with 59 school buses and 43 vans.
Curran said the next likely step is for a school board committee to discuss the issue, the buildings and grounds and transportation committee and possibly the finance committee. The final decision is up to the school board.
Curran said five proposals were made available to prospective bidders, the other two were to Student Transportation Inc., which, according to its website, is the largest independent provider of school bus transportation services in the nation, and Rohrer, Duncanon. Curran said he did not receive any proposals from interested parties as of 3 p.m. Friday. Curran said the district has 20 buses: 17 that can fit 72 passengers, two that can transport 48 people, 1 mini bus for 27 passengers and 11 vans capable of carrying different numbers of passengers.
“The more competition you have the better,” he said.
Since the pre-bid meeting was mandatory, any additional proposals that are received by the 11 a.m. March 28 deadline will not be opened, he said. He said the district can approve one, none or decide to solicit another request for proposals.
In the event that the chosen provider fails to meet certain stipulations, the district may cancel the contract. Zwiebel said the district looks forward to receiving bids this month.
Both Zwiebel and Curran said previously the district could potentially save money by going this route.
The move would save the district having to pay $170,302 for 2016 and 2017 into the Pennsylvania Public School Employees’ Retirement System and could also save $37,640 by taking the vehicles off the insurance, Curran said.
The district also wants to make sure the employees that will be affected are taken care of in terms of having a job. There are about 30 drivers, all part time, who usually work about 5 1/2 hours a day, as well as three full-time people in the transportation department, Ansbach, Deniece Krater, transportation supervisor/dispatcher, and Kim Blum, assistant transportation supervisor.