Monday, January 6, 2020

Charleston planning to switch bus contractors; Durham protests

You might remember that back in September, Charleston, SC was among the districts I cited that has been having ongoing issues with Durham Bus Services. Charleston had ongoing issues last year that were not resolved, continuing into this year. The main issue is very straightforward: the kids simply aren't getting to school on time.
Charleston County's contract with Durham is up at the end of this fiscal year, and the district has awarded the bid to First Student.  Durham is not happy about it:
Two days later, Durham filed an official appeal to the district’s decision, claiming that the school district “inappropriately applied” the bid’s evaluation criteria.
First Student’s five-year pricing proposal was more than $4.5 million greater than Durham’s, according to the appeal. Durham was awarded 60 points for its pricing submission, but First Student was awarded 57.87 points.
“The arbitrary and inconsequential point differential does not adequately assess the cost savings of the bid presented by (Durham),” the appeal read.
Yes, that means the district is willing to pay more money to First Student. Why?
Because the point is to get students to school on time. 

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