Schools To Pay 85% For This Year’s Idle Buses

Jackson and Goldson should be questioning every word that comes out of Central Office-- Ask yourselves 1. Is it a lie? Like the SPED lie 2. Do they know what they are talking about?

Taking this logic-- if a restaurant faces a rise in the price of beef; the must look to a rise in price for patrons. Correct. But we get a steak dinner! NH taxpayers are expected to pay FIRST STUDENT the bulk of their contract whilst they are NOT WORKING. NO STEAK DINNER!!

This BOE has lost their collective mind. Please do the taxpayers a favor and RESIGN before you do more damage. You are not fit to serve on this kind of board.

Please explain why the buses were not used to drop off devices to students at their bus stops?

I'd presume the busses, when used to ferry children to and from school, have fuel in the tank. Unless there's a system in place to charge the city per gallon, I'd presume the bus company has worked fuel and maintenance costs into the contract. If the busses are mothballed, I'd presume there's a considerable fuel cost savings to the company. Has that been considered?

I admit I know zero about the number of busses used in New Haven on a normal school day. I don't know how many miles each bus operates. I don't know the dollar amount spent on oil changes, tire replacement and other maintenance.

What I do know is the current average cost of diesel fuel is $2.70 per gallon. An average full sized school bus burns about a gallon of diesel fuel every four to six miles (Let's call it five). If (big if) each bus rout is 25 miles, and there are pick-ups and drop-offs, doubling the milage, and the busses are shut down between routs, that's $27.00 per bus per day. If there are a hundred busses in service each day (I've no idea), that's $2,700 each day. If New Haven has 180 school days each year (sounds pretty close), that's $486,000.00 a year.

I'd presume maintenance, parts, fluids and oil, tires, wiper blades are costly too. According to a 2017 report on cost analysis for the average school bus by Buss Boss, School Transportation News Magazine had determined how much school bus maintenance costs were annually on average. Based on the response of their readership, they calculated an estimated cost for fleets with over and under 100 buses. These estimates include pricing for parts and labor.

According to them, the average cost of school bus maintenance for districts that operate more than 100 vehicles is just over $5,500 per year [per bus]. Only $43 less for fleets under a hundred. That's $550,000.00 a year.

Perhaps I'm uneducated on such matters and likely off a bit either way, but those numbers top a million bucks. Who gets to bank that?

@hARTMAN13,

Thank you for raising the fuel issue. New Haven pays for ALL the fuel. We, the taxpayers, purchase the fuel and then give it to First Student, not sell it, but give it away. So, that is another expense they do not have to incur.

Oh, and remember who is the readership of that magazine you cited, it is the transportation companies. Now I'm sure they were telling the truth about their actual costs.

Everyone should call their alders and tell them NOT to approve this contract amendment.

Thanks for the clarification Darnell. Much appreciated and glad to know we're not, at least, incurring those costs.

I have no idea what the right number should be because I simply don't know much about the contract or anything about the cost of running buses. But it sounds as though by paying 85% the city is allowing the bus company to pay the drivers. This administration ran on a promise of transparency. I would hope and expect that there were some calculations included in the negotiations and that the 85% wasn't a random number. The BOE should just ask for the backup to how the 85% was arrived at, and the NHPS (that now has a CFO) should willfully provide it. Absent facts, people make assumptions. I would file a FOIA request but nearly all of my requests under both Harp and Elicker have been ignored. The City continues to block access to the details behind the scam fire contract (which will spend $200 - $300 million over 6 years) signed at the midnight hour by Harp

Dennis Serfilippi

A few issues here which need to be thought through. First Student doesn't only need to retain drivers but also mechanics. Qualified mechanics are hard to find and they don't want to lose them if they can avoid doing so. As for drivers that is also an issue- if the drivers aren't paid and leave for another job then First Student has to find qualified drivers. Drivers have to be trained to drive the buses, most likely need to be CDL drivers, and be fully qualified (which is a process). Losing drivers leaves them short handed if/when schools reopen. That said, this agreement needs accountability- are the mechanics and drivers on payroll and continue to be on payroll during this time? The City shouldn't be paying for this if First Student is furloughing or laying off employees. What documentation will be required for payment- payroll records or just a statement from First Student? Will they be required to produce a list of drivers on payroll that can then be compared to state records (i.e. unemployment claims where First Student is the employer)? This seems to be rife with possible corruption issues. I have no problem paying to keep drivers available for when the buses will run again and for mechanics to keep the buses running but I have a problem for lack of accountability. I also have problems with savings bandied about- in the end these savings are rarely realized. I applaud those who voted no and assume it was mostly due to their questions not being answered properly. This needs to be reviewed with high accountability.

This is a messy situation for several reasons.
1) I presume that the original contract (which those of us pontificating here have not seen) has an exit clause that limits NHPS's options for ending or suspending the agreement.
2) Given the uncertainty that the BOE has created about when (if ever!) in-person school will resume and what that will entail for busing, First Student essentially has to be on call to return to service, possibly in a different configuration, almost immediately should the board decide that our kids can go back to school. That kind of flexibility doesn't come cheaply.
3) On the other hand, New Haven does have a long, documented history of paying people and companies not to work, which makes skepticism about this deal warranted.

Well of course this is 85% too much.

At this point, Mr. Goldson just needs to run for office...
Just go head and start your campaign Mr. Goldson.

...because he is the ONLY person on the board who is paying attention enough to question what needs to be questioned.
No one else is asking the questions, because no one else is paying attention.
Why did the MAYOR approve of this?
They Mayor himself should have refuted for NHPS to pay for the bus company's duties.

ALL businesses were put into lock-down due to COVID, and First Student is a business.
As part of the REOPENING REQUIREMENTS, businesses need to disinfect AND sanitize, so that lawyer on the board was 100% wrong.
First Student has a duty, if they want to continue to run their business, to disinfect and sanitize.
Goldson is 100% correct in that NHPS should NOT be paying for it.
I don't even see why NHPS should pay for 50%, but okay, play nice if you want.

And NOW for us to read that NHPS GIVES FIRST STUDENT THE GAS!!!!!!!???
Uum, WHY?

The board, and it seems to me the Chair especially, just do NOT care about what they are hearing. I for one am tired of seeing the board nod, smile, and agree.
What is the point of a chair?
What is the point of the Mayor of NH being there if he's not gonna question and be honest and transparent?

Goldson is the ONLY person paying attention to the details, the only person with common sense, and the ONLY person willing to defend New Haven and its teachers.
Its pathetic. Its sad.
Why has Conaway been so quiet lately?

Why do we even have a BOE? They vote as they are told; except for Goldson.
Darnell for Mayor!!!

Has anyone commenting here, including Mr. Goldson, or Emily Hayes, actually read the contract? Have any of the BoE members read the contract? What does the contract say? What do Lamont executive orders say about paying for bus service when schools are closed? The first question should be not what do we want, but what are our legal obligations? Sure, the BoE could renege on its legal obligations, but that would poison any future business relationship. (Just as entities which pay their bills in a timely manner, which the BoE and city do not, get better pricing.) Is the BoE ready to say goodbye to First Student? Are there lots of other vendors anxious to serve New Haven, who would not be deterred if New Haven breached its contract?
A lot of commentators want to pay First Student nothing but have it ready and willing to service New Haven on New Haven's terms. My daughter wants a pony and I want an XKE. None of which will happen.

@1644

Yes, I have read the contract
Yes, I have read the governor's executive order.

I've also reviewed the financials submitted by a foray Student. I've also researched the deals the bus company has made with other school systems throughout the country.

Yes, I believe there should be some reasonable accommodation with the bus company, but 85% payment is not reasonable based on their financials..we should not be paying for the depreciation of their buses, that is a business expense which should not be responsibility of the Mew Haven taxpayers and equals millions of dollars.

We should not be paying nearly $300k for them to "clean" their buses. It is a Leal East in the contract that is their responsibility as part of the original cost, why should we cover the disinfecting that they are responsible for?

The original clause for paying for buses during shutdowns were meant for a day or two or three during a snowstorm, not a 5 or 6 month pandemic response.

The governor's order called for reasonable expenses like worker wages, not depreciation.

Our negotiators didn't negotiate, they took whatever demand made by the bus company.

And Yes, there are other bus companies who are interested in the New Haven market. The problem is that we have put up barriers which highly favor the existing bus company, to the detriment of the taxpayers of the city and state.

Darnell - Why don't you ask the NHPS CFO to share the spreadsheet and analysis as to how they came up with the 85%. This is an administration that promised transparency. As a member of the BOE you should be able to have access to the documents that support the 85%. It shouldn't be a secret to anyone. I believe the transportation budget is $25 million a year. The difference btwn 75% and 80% of 90% is huge. Every 1% translates to $250K.


Dennis Serfilippi