Burlington Forced To Reopen School Bus Contract Bidding

BURLINGTON, MA — The Burlington School Committee will vote at a special meeting July 9 on whether to award its school bus contract to Trombly Motor Coach Service Inc., a company with a history of safety problems. Trombly, which is owned by John J. McCarthy of Dracut, submitted a bid after bidding on the contract was reopened. The reopening of the bid came after Town Meeting attendees and the School Committee approved a five-year contract for A&F Bus Company, the school system's current bus service provider and the only bidder when the contract was originally posted.

The contract bidding was reopened after a complaint was lodged with the Massachusetts Inspector General claiming that the contract was never listed in Commbuys, the state's official procurement record system. While state rules call for contracts over $50,000 to be listed on Commbuys, Samantha Kelly of A&F Bus said the company had found at least 10 other busing contracts awarded for the 2019-20 school year that had not been listed in the system but had not been forced to go out to rebid.

The $2.3 million contract for A&B Bus approved in May represented a 37 percent increase over the current contract. But Trombly was able to undercut the winning bid, which was made public after it was approved.

"We don't know yet what's going to happen. Legally, they are supposed to take the lower bid, but my understanding is the school committee isn't happy with the way the bidding was done," Kelly said.

An auto-response sent to Superintendent Eric Conti said he was out of the office and would not be reachable until July 15. Patch has asked Assistant Superintendent of Learning Patrick Larkin for comment and will update this story when we hear back from him. Patch has also asked McCarthy for comment.

In addition to Trombly, McCarthy owns NRT Bus Inc. The companies have been the target of complaints from parents and officials in other school districts in recent years:

• In May, NRT suspended Shawn McCarthy, 48, of Exeter, NH after he was arrested and charged with operating under the influence of drugs and other charges. The student that was on board the van with McCarthy "begged" him to stop after he hit another vehicle in Haverhill. When police arrived, McCarthy was lethargic and slurring his speech, according to court records.
• Earlier this year, North Reading officials fielded numerous complaints from parents about NRT, including one from a parent whose child suffered a head injury when the bus stopped short. Other complaints included missed stops and a revolving roster of drivers.
• Last April, NRT hired a Salem woman as a driver as she awaited trial on charges stemming from what has been called the biggest pill theft from a hospital in Massachusetts history. At the time she was hired, Lisa Tillman, 50, of Salem, had been accused of stealing Percocet, OxyContin, fentanyl and other medications over an 13-month period while working at Beverly Hospital.
• In 2014, a Trombly bus driver and monitor were fired after overlooking a 3 1/2-year-old autistic boy on the bus in Methuen. The driver parked the bus at his home with the boy still on board. The boy was only found after his mother called the school, which called the driver at home.

In Burlington, the school committee spent $5,000 in January to hire a consultant to help it review its current bus contract. The contract called for the consultant to review the existing contract, analyze current bus routes and look for areas to save money in the new contract.

But following the review, only A&F submitted a bid, despite inquiries from 16 other providers. Robert Cunha, director of technology and operations for the School Department, said at the time his department was "slightly disappointed" that it only received one bid, and the bid from Billerica-based A&F Bus had given the department "sticker shock." Cunha attributed the 37 percent increase to higher healthcare costs for bus drivers.

The agenda for the July 9 meeting also indicates the school committee will go into a closed, executive session to discuss contract negotiations and "potential litigation."

Dave Copeland can be reached at dave.copeland@patch.com or by calling 617-433-7851. Follow him on Twitter (@CopeWrites) and Facebook (/copewrites).