WCS To Advertise For Snow Removal; School Board Holds Public Hearing On Bus Seat Belts
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
By David [email protected]
Greg Schroeder, WCS director of maintenance, told the school board Tuesday night that in the interest of fairness and transparency, and to open up the district’s snow removal contracts to anyone interested, he wants to place an advertisement in the Times-Union for four days beginning Tuesday for snow removal bids. The board will approve the advertising at its regular meeting Monday.
Board member Dan Metzger said it was a great idea to advertise in the newspaper because some people in the past said they were unaware of the snow removal contracts and how they could acquire one.
Schroeder continued that contractors will be able to bid on any site they want to plow. They will have to provide a list of their equipment and costs, including an “encounter” rate. The school district also will ask for contractors for salting of parking lots.
Chief Financial Officer Kevin Scott said he likes the per-event pricing for snow removal as it will be easier to track. He said he and Schroeder have been talking about it a while.
Last year, Schroeder commented, WCS had six different contractors.
“The primary reason for that is we have a small window of time to get that clean for school to start and there’s not one contractor who can get everywhere cleared,” he said.
Scott told the board that Schroeder will present them with recommendations of approval for snow removal contracts at its October meeting.
Schroeder said he would like the board to consider awarding multi-year contracts, possibly for two years. Right now, WCS only offers one-year contracts. Board member Jay Baumgartner said that might be a good idea if there was an escape clause for all the parties involved.
In another issue, Transportation Director Cheryl Cook presented the board with information on the 2013 bus replacement. If the board approves it Monday night, WCS will purchase six conventional buses and one special education bus from Kerlin Bus Sales for $704,166. The cost was included in the 2013 budget.
Cook said Kerlin is allowing WCS to use last year’s bus prices instead of next year’s, which will save the school district approximately $8,000.
State law now requires that prior to purchasing a school bus equipped with safety belts, a school corporation must hold a public hearing to explain the benefits of school bus safety belts over other child safety investments. Only WCS’s special education buses have seat belts in them and WCS is purchasing a new special education bus. The board held that public meeting at last night’s public work session.
Delores Hearn, board secretary, asked if the public hearing on school bus seat belts was advertised. Scott said the board wasn’t taking any action, it just had to have a hearing on the matter.
Cook said school buses are built like tanks and protect the children like eggs in an egg carton. In one video that Cook watched where a school bus is hit by a large vehicle, she said the children barely moved.
Scott said he talked to Wawasee Schools earlier this year after some of their buses were involved in a crash. He said he was told the compartmentalization of students in the big seats helped protect them.
Having watched the Wawasee bus crash video online multiple times, board member Randy Polston said the students stayed pretty much in their seats.
Cook said WCS’s special needs buses always have had seat belts in them, and even adults in those buses have to wear a seat belt.
Scott said WCS’s practice of not having seat belts in conventional buses will not change.
Baumgartner asked how much did it cost to put seat belts on buses. Cook estimated the price to retrofit seat belts on buses it already had to be between $10,000 to $15,000 per bus.
“You’re comfortable with not having seat belts on the buses?” Baumgartner asked.
“Yes, I am,” Cook responded.
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Greg Schroeder, WCS director of maintenance, told the school board Tuesday night that in the interest of fairness and transparency, and to open up the district’s snow removal contracts to anyone interested, he wants to place an advertisement in the Times-Union for four days beginning Tuesday for snow removal bids. The board will approve the advertising at its regular meeting Monday.
Board member Dan Metzger said it was a great idea to advertise in the newspaper because some people in the past said they were unaware of the snow removal contracts and how they could acquire one.
Schroeder continued that contractors will be able to bid on any site they want to plow. They will have to provide a list of their equipment and costs, including an “encounter” rate. The school district also will ask for contractors for salting of parking lots.
Chief Financial Officer Kevin Scott said he likes the per-event pricing for snow removal as it will be easier to track. He said he and Schroeder have been talking about it a while.
Last year, Schroeder commented, WCS had six different contractors.
“The primary reason for that is we have a small window of time to get that clean for school to start and there’s not one contractor who can get everywhere cleared,” he said.
Scott told the board that Schroeder will present them with recommendations of approval for snow removal contracts at its October meeting.
Schroeder said he would like the board to consider awarding multi-year contracts, possibly for two years. Right now, WCS only offers one-year contracts. Board member Jay Baumgartner said that might be a good idea if there was an escape clause for all the parties involved.
In another issue, Transportation Director Cheryl Cook presented the board with information on the 2013 bus replacement. If the board approves it Monday night, WCS will purchase six conventional buses and one special education bus from Kerlin Bus Sales for $704,166. The cost was included in the 2013 budget.
Cook said Kerlin is allowing WCS to use last year’s bus prices instead of next year’s, which will save the school district approximately $8,000.
State law now requires that prior to purchasing a school bus equipped with safety belts, a school corporation must hold a public hearing to explain the benefits of school bus safety belts over other child safety investments. Only WCS’s special education buses have seat belts in them and WCS is purchasing a new special education bus. The board held that public meeting at last night’s public work session.
Delores Hearn, board secretary, asked if the public hearing on school bus seat belts was advertised. Scott said the board wasn’t taking any action, it just had to have a hearing on the matter.
Cook said school buses are built like tanks and protect the children like eggs in an egg carton. In one video that Cook watched where a school bus is hit by a large vehicle, she said the children barely moved.
Scott said he talked to Wawasee Schools earlier this year after some of their buses were involved in a crash. He said he was told the compartmentalization of students in the big seats helped protect them.
Having watched the Wawasee bus crash video online multiple times, board member Randy Polston said the students stayed pretty much in their seats.
Cook said WCS’s special needs buses always have had seat belts in them, and even adults in those buses have to wear a seat belt.
Scott said WCS’s practice of not having seat belts in conventional buses will not change.
Baumgartner asked how much did it cost to put seat belts on buses. Cook estimated the price to retrofit seat belts on buses it already had to be between $10,000 to $15,000 per bus.
“You’re comfortable with not having seat belts on the buses?” Baumgartner asked.
“Yes, I am,” Cook responded.
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