MTM Deserves A Contract

To the Editor:

Last night an overflow crowd attended the school board meeting at Reed School. Uppermost in the minds of nearly every attendee was the transportation contract up for award.

Newtown currently uses an owner/operator transportation system with MTM as the primary contract holder. MTM is a Newtown owned and operated business with the majority of its employees being residents of the town and its fleet garaged and maintained in Newtown.

The other contenders are all business that are not based in Newtown. The issue is that when the bid is analyzed in a certain light MTM is not consistently the lowest bid. However, the difference is about two percent over the life of the contract.

I attended last night’s meeting and every person who addressed the school board (other than the owner of a competitive bidder) was clear in his or her support of a contract award to MTM despite the cost issues. This becomes more compelling when one considers MTM’s offer to negotiate their pricing.

As a father of five children who attended Newtown schools and now as a grandparent of children in the school system, I urge the board to make this award to MTM.

The reasons are simple and in the best interest of the parents and school children. Local drivers are familiar with the town road network, its highly rural topography and, most importantly, the kids. The drivers see the school kids in a number of settings in addition to the bus. They see them in stores, restaurants, at sporting events, and church. The drivers are part of the community, school fabric, and support network for each of these kids. If we award this contract to a company not based in Newtown we lose that and probably will never be able to turn the clock back.

Finally, in these difficult economic times why ship tax dollars out of town? Keep the money in Newtown where it will turn over several times before it moves on to other markets. Why trust our kids to people we do not know who are here to simply earn a paycheck?

It was clear to me that the overwhelming support at last night’s meeting was in favor of MTM. The school board is charged with representing the taxpayers of Newtown...that being said MTM deserves this contract.

R.P. Gottmeier

13 Antler Pine Road, Sandy Hook                                 April 22, 2009