NA Contract Renewal7 Jan 2025 21:12
A couple of weeks since reported but great news. Hopefully we are having similar conversations with all legacy renewals
Milford schools, bus company deal includes 19.75% year one pay hike
MILFORD — The school board and Durham School Services have reached a new five-year bus contract, one that includes a nearly 20 % cost hike in year one.
The Board of Education, at its Nov. 25 meeting, approved the deal with Durham, which has a 19.75 % increase in the cost of service in the first year. The deal then calls for stable 4 % increases each year over the remainder of the deal.
The new deal goes into effect beginning with the next school year, according to Assistant Superintendent of Business and Operations Sean Brennan.
Brennan said the cost hike for year one — which calls for a $883,000 increase in transportation costs compared to the 2024-25 budget — merely brings the payment to a number more in line with the costs Durham now faces.
In 2026-27, the 4 percent increase amounts to approximately a $214,198 increase in the transportation budget, with an estimated $222,786 hike in 2027-28; a $231,676 hike in 2028-29; and an estimated $240,935 jump in 2029-30.
The budgeted cost for the school district’s Durham School Services contract for the 2024-25 school year is approximately $4,471,670.
Brennan said the schools enjoyed one of the lowest rates in the state over the past five years since the deal was signed just prior to the pandemic.
Since the signing of the current contract, Durham, like other bus companies in the state, faced driver shortages and significant labor and maintenance costs.
“We were at an artificially locked in rate in this present contract,” Brennan said. “We anticipated a significant increase in the coming contract.”
Brennan said, even with the new deal, the daily locked rates remain among the lowest in the state. With the increase, each bus run costs $402, compared to $335 this school year.
Brennan said, according to the new deal, Durham will install stop arm cameras on all buses, as well as new software on bus routing and driver training. Durham will also keep the fleet age at 12 years or less and will pay to repair or, if needed, replace buses.
The district has partnered with Durham since 2005, Brennan said. The bus company even upgraded a bus depot at 615 Plains Road, which he says is a benefit since it allows for bus storage, repairs and fueling in the city in which it serves.
Durham transports 3,694 students, with 983 to high schools, 933 to middle school and 1,509 to elementary schools with 269 to parochial and tech schools, during the 2024-25 school year.
The fleet includes 63 buses and vans with 107 bus runs and 976 bus stops.
Durham offers video cameras on the buses, as well as ZONAR swipe badges for students.
The present contract shows the city’s cost per bus at $60,785 for 2024-25.
The fleet supplied by Durham School Services includes buses that are powered
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