Milford Schools Extend Bus Contract: Here Are The Full Terms

MILFORD, CT — The Board of Education voted to extend the contract of its transportation provider, Durham Transportation, by an additional three years. The current contract had two years remaining on it and the new extension means Durham will be the district's transportation provider until at least 2024-25 school year.

At the March Board of Education meeting, Chief Operations Officer James L. Richetelli Jr. provided an update on the situation with Durham Transportation, relative to the bus yard. The property has been sold and Durham must find a new yard to house its operations. Durham has asked the BOE to extend its current contract by three years to allow them to enter into a 5 year lease.

Without the extension it is unlikely Durham will be able to find a new location in Milford, officials said at the meeting. Richetelli reviewed the district’s history with Durham, the positive working relationship that has existed during that time, the current terms of the contract and the initiatives Durham has added to recent contracts.

He shared comparative data from districts across the state showing Milford has had very competitive rates with Durham. He concluded with his opinion that it would be in the district’s best interests to continue with Durham and extend the contract. Current terms will remain in effect.

Neil Martino, General Manager of Durham Bus Services, answered questions from the Board.
Board of Education member Andrew Fowler made a motion that the Milford Board of Education authorizes administration to enter into a three-year extension to the current contract with Durham School Services Inc. to cover the 2022-2023, 2023-2024 and 2024-2025 school years in accordance with the terms indicated on the letter from Durham dated March 3, 2020.

The motion was unanimously approved.

History of Durham's time in Milford

Durham School Services Inc. has been proving transportation services to our students since2005. The initial contract was for five years and it has been extended four times. We are currently in the third year of a five-year contract.

Durham has reported to us that the property on Old Gate Lane that currently houses their office,
maintenance facility, fueling tank and bus yard has been sold. The new owner has plans to open
a commercial operation and has notified Durham that they will not be renewing their lease as of
July 1, 2020. Our contract with Durham requires that they maintain a facility in Milford. This
ensures that the City is able to tax the buses as personal property.

Since learning their lease would not be renewed, Durham immediately began looking for any
available property within the City. They have been working with three commercial real estate
agents. The agents have indicated that it will be very difficult, if not impossible, to find a property owner who is willing to make the necessary modifications required by Durham, for less
than a five-year lease.

For this reason, Durham has asked us to extend our contract with them for an additional 3 years, which will allow them the possibility of finding a suitable location. Milford Public Schools has been extremely fortunate to have maintained an excellent working partnership with Durham throughout the terms of their contract with us. They provide responsive, cost effective services to the district.

In addition to the outstanding service we have received, we have also benefited from some of the
most competitive prices in the State of Connecticut. In 2013, 2016 and again this year we conducted a survey of districts throughout the State to compare our prices to what others are
paying.

As you can see from the attached comparison, our cost per bus is among the lowest of those who responded. Additionally, you will note from the survey that the vast majority of districts pay the entire cost of fuel. In Milford, Durham pays for the first $1.00 per gallon of fuel. This has resulted in substantial savings over each year.

Based upon our research and discussions with other school transportation coordinators
throughout the State, it is our strong belief that it is more advantageous to extend the current
contract with Durham. We will continue to receive very competitive pricing and build upon the
outstanding contractual relationship that we now have.

Therefore, it is recommended that the Milford Board of Education authorize administration to
enter into a three-year extension to the current contract with Durham School Services Inc. to
cover the 2022-2023, 2023-2024 and 2024-2025 school years in accordance with the terms
indicated on the letter from Durham dated February 28, 2020.

Currently in the third year of a five year contract (August 1, 2017 – July 31, 2022)

• Current Contract:
2019-2020 $289.69
2020-2021 $298.38
2021-2022 $307.34

• Proposed Extension – 3% increase per year:
2022-2023 $316.55
2023-2024 $326.05
2024-2025 $335.83

• Even after the proposed increases, our prices continue to be among the lowest rates
throughout the state. (see attached cost comparison)

• Durham will continue to pay $1.00 toward cost of fuel. This is a provision not many
districts enjoy. For Milford, this equates to approximately $116,209 (2018-2019).

• Durham has committed to moving the diesel fuel storage tank to their new property. MPS
will continue to purchase fuel through the city’s locked in price rather than buying at retail prices as was the case before they had the tank. This has saved the district more than well over $250,000 since 2013-2014. The small buses and vans will continue to utilize the gasoline fuel tanks at the Milford Public Works year. MPS will continue to purchase gasoline through the City’s locked in price rather than buying at retail pumps
• Durham will continue to assume responsibility for the purchase, maintenance, repair, and
replacement of all cameras.
• Durham will continue to replace vehicles each year to keep the fleet current.
• New vehicles will be equipped with advanced two advanced safety systems:
o Lytx Drive Cam video safety program to gain greater visibility into our drivers’ operational behavior and to provide data-driven insights to guide coachable events
o Fogmaker North America - full-size school buses equipped with automatic fire
detection and suppression technology
• Durham will continue to provide at no additional cost to the district a Parent Bus Tracker
App and all other technologies that are currently in place on all buses