![Santa Rosa County School district Superintendent Tim Wyrosdick [File photo]](http://127.0.0.1/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/ghows-DA-686926b9-e48b-5b3e-e053-0100007f1481-621ca739-scaled.jpeg)
MILTON — The Santa Rosa County School District recently signed a five-year contract with Student Transportation of America — a New Jersey-based company — for new school buses beginning July 1 prior to the 2018-2019 school year.
“I’m bringing to the board a change and recommend… moving to STA as our transportation provider,” Superintendent Tim Wyrosdick said at the March 15 school board meeting.
The contract will come with a fleet of 221 model year 2019 buses. The majority of the buses will be 77-seat passenger buses, with 50 wheelchair-equipped buses that seat 45. The new buses will have seat belts, GPS, radios, air conditioning and a state-of-the-art camera system.
According to the contract, the new buses must be ready two weeks before the first day of school in August.
The school district’s current transportation provider, Durham School Services has provided services since 2008. Their contract officially ends June 30.
Durham also submitted a proposal during the bidding process for a base cost of $8.7 million. The District ranked Durham the top company, but the two were not able to reach an agreement.
“The district negotiations committee, comprised of Joey Harrell, Cindy Lambeth and myself was unable to negotiate an acceptable agreement with Durham,” district director of purchasing and contract administration Jud Crane said in a March 15 letter to Wyrosdick. “The committee then began negotiations with STA and was able to come to agreement on an acceptable contract.”
STA officials and district staff will meet next week to determine a plan for bus service for students in summer school, who will require transportation until the new fleet is available.
“The cost is more than we have paid in the past, but we believe we have mitigated the cost to a level that is appropriate and fair,” Wyrosdick said.
The base cost for the STA contract's first year is $10.4 million, and the following years will include a rate increase that cannot exceed three percent of the base cost, according to the agreement. If both parties agree, they can renew the contract for another five years, according to Crane.
According to Wyrosdick, the school district has delineated specific performance parameters in the contract.
“Not only is there an increase in accountability, it is also really specific with regard to what our expectations are,” Wyrosdick said.
STA will be responsible for covering 201 routes for all 180 school days, and each route will need a bus. Spare buses are also a requirement.
The contract allows the district a four percent increase or decrease on the number of routes without altering the annual base compensation it pays STA.
This article originally appeared on Santa Rosa Press Gazette: School district changes transportation provider