Lyndonville will bid school bus contract with Roy-Hart, Barker
LYNDONVILLE – The Lyndonville school district is joining with Barker and Roy-Hart for a joint bussing contract, hoping that will drive the costs down.
Lyndonville was notified its current transportation provider, Student Transportation of America (Ridge Road Express), wouldn’t accept a renewal of the contract at a cost-of-living rate.
STA wants to keep providing service to Lyndonville, but said the contract needs to be rebid to reflect higher operating costs.
STA also has provided the service to Albion the past 30 years and that contract was rebid, with STA the low bidder – at a 30 percent increase. The company told Albion school leaders the rising minimum wage is pushing up operational costs with bus drivers and aides getting paid more money.
Joe DiPassio Jr., Lyndonville’s school business administrator, has budgeted a $258,064 increase in transportation, which is up 36.8 percent. The district won’t know the costs until the bids come in.
Lyndonville on Monday voted to rebid the bus contract in a joint deal with Barker and Roy-Hart. The economies of scale with the three districts should result in a better price, said Jason Smith, Lyndonville’s district superintendent.
Barker will serve as the lead agency in the bidding process. The districts will share the costs for the joint transportation bid, estimated at $14,450.
