During its meeting on April 24, 2018, the District 97 Board of Education unanimously approved a two-year contract extension for regular and special education transportation with its current provider, Lakeview Bus Lines.
Prior to approving the contract extension, the board also voted to unanimously reject all transportation bids that were opened April 9 and formally presented during its meeting April 10.
In order to determine if efficiencies could be realized if changes were made to the existing transportation structure, the district issued a Request for Proposals (RFP) for a one-year contract for regular education busing and a three-year contract for special education. The request for regular education included a primary bid for maintaining the district's current level of transportation, as well as alternatives that included options for savings, including eliminating elementary busing.
Two companies responded to the RFP: Lakeview and North American. The lowest regular education bid (North American's bid on the proposal to keep existing services) was 20 percent higher than the 2017-18 rate, and the lowest special education bid was 3.5 percent higher. The only alternative bid, which was submitted by Lakeview, was also higher than the current rate.
Following the April 10 meeting, Alicia Evans, the district's assistant superintendent of finance and operations, negotiated a two-year contract extension with Lakeview to provide existing transportation services, with a cost increase of 3.5 percent for the 2018-19 and 2019-20 school years.
During the April 24 meeting, board members also discussed plans to assemble a work group to thoroughly analyze bus routes, efficiencies, safety, congestion, and other concerns raised by the board and community. This group would include input from parents, community members and the village. These plans will be discussed at a future board meeting.