School Board Approves Renegotiated Transportation Contract

By Larissa Lytwyn

The Board of Education approved its renegotiated contract with MLM Transportation, Inc during a special meeting October 28.

MLM Transportation, headed by President Michelle Voight, Vice President Maria Adams, and Secretary/Treasurer LeReine Frampton, agreed to renegotiate the contract after an unprecedented $60,000 was added to improve the functionality of the district’s new three-tier bus system.

Under the old contract, MLM was paid $260 for four hours of service and an hourly rate thereafter of $60 to $70, according to the type of bus.

In the new contract MLM is paid a daily $300 rate if it works five hours or as many as seven and three-quarter hours.

Hourly rates are now broken down into a $35 charge.

With the increased number of hours the three-tier system requires, this daily-rate based contract saves the town an estimated $8,000 a month, noted board Chair Elaine McClure.

Each of MLM’s nine buses is equipped with a $600 radio.

One of the concerns parents voiced during the beginning of the school year was the absence of radios in some MLM buses. The town originally slated the radio purchases under the Bennett contract. A few weeks passed into the school year while the purchase was reprocessed under MLM.

Another change involves the age of buses. Under the old contract, the average age of the buses in use was not to exceed 6½ years, including route and spare buses. MLM Transportation has wanted to use a 12-passenger wheelchair bus made in 1992. Despite its age, said Ms Frampton, the bus has passed all inspections and is in excellent condition.

The revised contract states that no vehicle will exceed 10 years of age, unless permission is first gained through the school board.

Vice Chairman David Nanavaty expressed concern about the 10-year clause. The attorney was recently approved to serve as an interim board vice chairman since the sitting vice chairman Vince Saviano is not seeking reelection.

“What are the penalties if a bus over 10 years old is used without the board’s discretion?” Mr Nanavaty asked.

Board member Andrew Buzzi said that penalties for “nonperformance damages” are listed in the contract.

Mr Nanavaty worried that the stipulation was not clear enough, and, ultimately, the board suggested reinstating a statement on the first page of the contract. “Failure to maintain the stipulated average age during the contract life shall be considered grounds for default,” the statement decrees.

After a two-minute recess to discuss the possible reinstatement with Ms Adams and Ms Frampton (Ms Voight was not present), the board unanimously approved the contract with the reinstatement of the default statement. Because of the precise language of the 10-year age clause, the word “average” was removed.

The five-year contract, effective October 1, 2003, through June 30, 2008, supercedes all prior negotiations and may be amended at any point via mutual agreement between the Board and MLM.

 “I would like to thank [Mr Buzzi] for the amount of hours he put in to [rework this contract],” Ms McClure. “I would also like to give thanks to MLM Transportation, Inc for being so workable. We all know how tight money is. This is a wonderful contract for the town.”