Calvert County Public Schools 1305 Dares Beach Road Prince Frederick, MD 20678

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1 I. Definitions Calvert County Public Schools 1305 Dares Beach Road Prince Frederick, MD Administrative Procedures for Policy # 4201 (Support Services) Regarding Student Transportation Procurement of Services A. Agents and assignees the Superintendent and/or his/her designee B. Authorized passengers - those individuals who are approved to use transportation services provided by the Board. It shall be deemed to include, but not be limited to, students, teachers, and coaches of Calvert County Public Schools (CCPS) C. Board the Calvert County Board of Education, its agents and assignees D. Bus route - the route, as determined by the Director of Transportation, that a particular school bus/vehicle will travel to and from school to pick up and discharge students, and includes all scheduled bus stops along the route E. Communication device - a cellular telephone or any portable instrument capable of communicating with another such instrument F. Contract - a contract for the provision of student transportation services G. Contractor - an individual or entity contracted by the Board to provide student transportation services H. County - Calvert County, Maryland I. Current contractor list - the list of those contractors who currently have contracts and are interested in providing new student transportation services in their assigned transportation district J. Director of Transportation- the individual responsible for student transportation for CCPS or his/her authorized representative K. Driver a school bus/vehicle driver or driver for a taxi service approved by CCPS L. Equipment - any and all physical items used to provide transportation services by a contractor M. Per Vehicle Allotment (PVA)- Monies allotted for the purchase price of buses N. Primary Bus Lot - the principal location within the County at which a contractor stores and/or maintains his/her buses for the purposes of providing student transportation services within the County. A contractor may only be deemed to have one (1) principal location in the County. (Refer to April, 2006 Transportation District Map and list filed in Director of Transportation s office which specify the exact location and addresses of the primary bus lots.) O. Prospective contractor - an individual or group who does not currently provide student transportation services but has applied to be considered for providing student transportation services for CCPS P. School - any facility at which educational instruction is provided by CCPS Q. School Bus/Vehicle - a school bus/vehicle that meets all federal, state, county and board laws, regulations, rules, policies, and procedures, and any other requirements and is used for the purpose of transporting CCPS students to and from school Page 1 of 11

2 R. School year - the period of time determined by the Board during which all students must attend school S. Spare bus - a school bus/vehicle that is kept as a temporary replacement for use in times where the regular bus is unavailable for use T. Student - an individual legally enrolled in CCPS or who is placed in another school by the Superintendent/designee or an IEP team U. Superintendent - the Superintendent of CCPS or his/her designated representative V. Temporary contract - a contract which may be awarded and terminated in a manner deemed necessary by the Director of Transportation to address the temporary transportation needs of CCPS W. Transportation district - those geographical areas of Calvert County designated by the Transportation Department within which additional transportation services in the County may be awarded to a contractor whose primary bus lot is within the assigned area and as designated by policies and procedures stated herein. (Refer to the Transportation District Map of April, 2006.) X. Transportation Services - transportation provided by the Board to students and authorized passengers. II. Method of Operation of Transportation Services A. The Superintendent/designee has the right and the responsibility to determine, in his/her sole discretion, which methods of transportation are in the best interests of the school system. This could be defined as the current method of awarding contracts with local bus contractors, or by modifying that process, or by establishing a nonprofit transportation corporation, or by public ownership of providing Transportation Services. The Superintendent/ designee also has the right and responsibility, in his/her sole discretion, to determine the requirements and means of administering the method selected. B. In the event of any emergency, the Superintendent of Schools shall authorize the Director of Transportation to assign, on a temporary basis, such route(s) to another individual or business entity as necessary to provide the continued safe and efficient transportation of students. III. Procurement of Transportation Services A. When, in the sole discretion of the Superintendent/designee, it is determined that additional Transportation Services to the school system are necessary, the requirements and criteria within these procedures shall be used in awarding contracts to the independent school bus/vehicle contractors or transportation service provider. IV. Minimum Prospective Contractor Requirements A. All applicants providing Transportation Services on a Contract basis must meet the following minimum criteria: i. Where the applicant is an individual, he/she must have a minimum of five years of driving experience, during which time a valid driver s license was held. Additionally, the applicant must have a Commercial Driver s License Page 2 of 11

3 (CDL) with P and S endorsements, and may not have an airbrake restriction. Applicants must be determined, in the sole discretion of the Board, to be financially solvent. The Board may require evidence it deems satisfactory of the financial stability of the applicant to undertake a contract. i The Superintendent/designee, in his/her sole discretion, may require the posting of a bond to ensure the performance of a Contractor under any contract awarded. iv. An applicant must maintain their primary bus lot in Calvert County, Maryland. v. An applicant may only apply for contracts located in the same transportation district as his/her primary bus lot. vi. The applicant, or in the case of an applicant that is not an individual, or anyone with any ownership interest, must not have a criminal record that is deemed unacceptable by the Director of Transportation. The Director of Transportation shall consult with other departments before rendering a determination. A criminal record-check shall be conducted before any contracts are awarded. v An applicant must provide three (3) references deemed acceptable by the Superintendent/designee. vi An applicant must have a communication device in their home, work site, and on their person. Where the applicant is not an individual, the owners of a majority interest must meet the same criteria. The applicant must have an e- mail account for conducting business with Calvert County Public Schools. ix. If an applicant has provided transportation services prior to the application, he/she must demonstrate to the Superintendent/designee that he/she runs a safe, reliable, effective and efficient operation. V. Current Contractors Performance Criteria A. Current contractors will be expected to meet the following performance criteria in order to be awarded additional contracts or to continue to receive current contracts: i. Demonstrate good overall care, maintenance and cleanliness of their buses Demonstrate quick and effective responses to bus repair issues i Work effectively to retain drivers so as to ensure consistent coverage of assigned bus routes iv. Show the ability to address coverage issues in an effective manner v. Cooperate with the Transportation Department and other contractors so as to effectively address the daily task of completing routes in a timely fashion. vi. Work quickly and effectively to address school and community concerns pertaining to any laws, rules, regulation, policies, procedures or guidelines pertaining to the safe, efficient and consistent operation of the school vehicle/bus by the contractor and/or the school vehicle/bus driver employed by the contractor. This includes the provision of transportation services which are physically and emotionally safe. Page 3 of 11

4 B. If the Director of Transportation determines that a current contractor is not meeting these performance criteria: i. A conference shall be arranged to identify the areas of concern; i iv. If performance does not improve, the Director of Transportation shall put the concerns in writing and shall present the written concerns to the contractor at a second conference. The Contractor and Director of Transportation will create an action plan and timeline specifically identifying the areas of concern and the actions the contractor will take to address the areas of concern. If performance issues persist, the Director of Transportation will arrange a meeting with the contractor and the Superintendent/designee to address the areas of concern. The Superintendent/designee may require the contractor to respond, in writing, to the concerns and to explain the contractor s response; If further problems persist, the Director of Transportation may determine that the contractor is excluded from consideration for additional contracts or may determine that it is in the school system s best interest that one or more of the current contracts be withdrawn at the end of the school year. The contractor may appeal the Director of Transportation s decision in writing to the Superintendent within ten (10) business days. VI. Contract Award Procedures A. The process for applying for contracts and the awarding of contracts shall be as follows: i. Contractors currently under contract with the Board for the provision of transportation services shall submit their request for new contracts in writing, by certified mail, to the Director of Transportation. The request must include the contractor s name and indicate what current or future contract he/she is interested in being awarded. i Prospective contractors not currently under contract with the Board for the provision of transportation services shall submit all materials required to demonstrate compliance with the Minimum Contractor Requirements set forth above, in writing, by certified mail, to the Director of Transportation. The request must include the prospective contractor s name, and an indication of what current or future contracts he/she is interested in being awarded. The Director of Transportation shall maintain a current contractors list interested in additional contracts and a prospective contractors list interested in obtaining a contract. The list shall be organized by Transportation District with the interested parties listed in order of earliest received certified letter. In the event two (2) or more parties from the same Transportation District have the same date, the order of listing shall be determined by a draw of lot with the involved contractors present. Page 4 of 11

5 VII. Contract Awards A. General: A contractor only acquires limited rights for the provision of services, which rights are not transferable except as outlined in Sec. VIII, and are not subject to negotiated resale by the contractor. B. Awarding of New Contracts: i. Unless the Director of Transportation determines unique circumstances require a departure from these provisions, contracts shall be awarded as follows. Priority for new contracts shall be: 1. The contract applicant from the current contractors list with their primary bus lot in the Transportation District to be served by the first morning pick-up of the contract to be awarded that has the earliest certified postage date shall receive first opportunity to receive the contract; 2. In the event the contract applicant from the current contractors list with the earliest certified postage date as set forth above declines the contract offer, the Director of Transportation shall proceed to the next current contractor on the list, by order of earliest certified postage date, with their primary bus lot in the Transportation District to be served by the first morning pick-up of the contract to be awarded. 3. The Director of Transportation shall continue down the current contractors list until the contract is awarded, or until there are no more current contract applicants with their primary bus lots in the Transportation District to be served by the first morning pick-up of the contract to be awarded. 4. In the event a contract is unable to be awarded in accordance with the priorities set forth above, the Director of Transportation will refer to the prospective contractors list to award the contract. In the event no one from the prospective contractors list meets the criteria set forth herein, the Director of Transportation may award the contract in a manner deemed to best serve the purposes and needs of the school system. If a contract applicant from the current contractors list fails to accept a contract offer, his/her name shall be removed from consideration. If he/she is interested in future contract consideration, the process described above in the section entitled contract award procedures must be followed. At that time, his/her name will be added to the current contractors list based on the date of the certified letter. VIII. Transfers of Contracts A. Requests for transfers of contracts shall be in accordance with the following: Page 5 of 11

6 i. Transfers to Spouse, Children, or Sibling 1. A contractor who is an individual may request his/her contracts be transferred to his/her spouse, children, or sibling upon his/her death, disability, or retirement. The final decision to approve such a request shall be made by the Director of Transportation. In order for the request to be eligible for approval it must meet the following criteria: (a) (b) (c) (d) (e) The request must be in writing. The request must have preceded his/her death, disability or retirement. The spouse, children, or sibling must meet all the requirements to be a contractor set forth herein as well as the expectations of any state or local law, regulation, policy, procedure or guideline governing such a transfer. This shall include a criminal record-check. Individuals who are currently members of the Board of Education and/or their family members (defined as spouse, children, or siblings) may apply for or be transferred contracts as a contractor; however, he/she cannot directly engage in the operation of the contract during the term(s) in office plus for one calendar year following the last date of service to the Board of Education. Individuals who are currently employed by Calvert County Public Schools and who are the spouse, sibling or child of a contractor may be designated by a contractor to take over a contract in the event of the death or incapacitation of the contractor; however the CCPS employee may not directly engage in the operation of the bus contract while still employed by CCPS plus one calendar year following the individual s last date of employment with CCPS. IX. Transfers with Equipment Sales A. On request of a contractor selling equipment, and an existing contractor purchasing the equipment, the Director of Transportation may approve the transfer of the contracts along with the equipment, subject to: i. Location of primary bus lot in the same Transportation District as the contracts being requested to be transferred, unless deemed in the best interest of the school system; and The contractor requesting the transfer may not receive any compensation from the school system for the transfer of the contracts if said transfer is approved. X. School Year Contractor Change or End-of Year Non-Renewal A. If a current contractor decides to give up his/her contracts during the school year or at the end of the school year, the following steps will be taken: i. The Transportation Department will conduct an analysis of the newly available routes to determine their average daily mileage. Page 6 of 11

7 i iv. The Transportation Department will conduct an analysis of the current contractors who have submitted letters of interest in new routes to determine the average daily mileage for their current bus fleet. Once the analysis is complete, the newly available routes will be assigned based on routes with the most miles being assigned to the current contractor with the lowest average miles. These contracts will be awarded for the life of the initial length of a new contract, unless the contractor taking over the contract is also purchasing the equipment. In this case, the contractor will be issued a contract for the remaining service life on the school bus/vehicle not to exceed five (5) years. XI. Temporary Contracts A. The Director may award and terminate temporary contracts in a manner of his/her choosing when deemed necessary to address the temporary transportation needs of the school system. Provision of temporary contract services shall not affect a contractors priority position on the current contractors list. B. Temporary contracts may be reassigned from one contractor to another if they are deemed to be in the best interests of the school system. If possible, notification of this reassignment should take place ten (10) business days prior to the start of the winter break in the CCPS calendar, or ten (10) business days prior to the start of extended school year services/summer school dates for the school(s) being served by the route or ten (10) days before the start of the CCPS school year. XII. Minimum Contract Terms and Conditions A. All contracts awarded shall be deemed to incorporate the following minimum terms, conditions, and requirements by reference: i. Incorporation of federal, state, and local laws, regulations, rules, policies, and procedures as amended. At all times during the life of the contract, the contractor shall be in complete compliance with any and all federal, state, county, and Board laws, regulations, rules, policies, and procedures, as amended, all of which are deemed to be incorporated herein by reference. XIII. Contract Amount and Payments A. The actual amounts to be paid for contract services and the terms of payment therefore, shall be set forth in the school bus contract, Section 1.1.1, Schedule A as attached to each contract, which schedule may be amended by the Board in its sole discretion from time to time. B. The estimated amount to be paid to the contractor for each year will be issued in the form of a Schedule A and adjusted via manifest forms and/or transportation routing software data. C. Contract prices shall be adjusted whenever the bus route is extended or reduced and/or the contractor s personnel allowance for driver s rate of pay increases or Page 7 of 11

8 decreases in accordance with the established funding mechanism or when the price of fuel increases or decreases by $.03 per gallon. Payment to the contractors shall be in twenty (20) bi-monthly installments. The Transportation Department will complete annual audits of at least 10% of all contracted bus routes based on manifests and route descriptions. Payments will be adjusted according to the findings of these audits. XIV. Reductions in Contracts A. If in the opinion of the Superintendent/designee events make it necessary to reduce the number of outstanding contracts, the following steps may in sequence be undertaken by the Board to achieve the reduction in contracts deemed prudent by the Board: i. The Director of Transportation may request voluntary terminations of contracts. Contracts which have completed a twelve (12) years of operation will not be renewed. i Contracts terminated by a contractor will not be re-issued. iv. The contract of a deceased contractor will not be renewed or allowed to pass to a beneficiary. v. The Director of Transportation shall eliminate one (1) contract from each contractor with eight (8) or more contracts; earliest year accepted buses shall be eliminated first. vi. The Director of Transportation shall eliminate one (1) contract from each contractor with six (6) or more contracts; earliest year accepted school buses/vehicles shall be eliminated first. v If further reductions are necessary, contracts shall be eliminated for school buses/vehicles having the earliest acceptance year. If necessary to eliminate less than all of the school buses/vehicles for a given model year, the least senior contractor, in years of service, shall be eliminated first. vi Contractors who lose a school bus/vehicle hereunder shall be placed at the top of the current contractors list in the appropriate Transportation District in order of seniority of service to the Board. B. If the Director of Transportation determines that a need to reduce contracts exists, school buses/vehicles eliminated from service that are under twelve (12) years old will be placed on the paid spare bus list, in order of contractor seniority of service to the County, until said school bus/vehicle is twelve (12) years old, at which time that will be removed from said list. C. If the Director of Transportation determines that a need to reduce Career and Technology (CTA) runs then Transportation would reduce the runs based on the following: i. maintaining a distribution among contractors currently serve the CTA, i having routes serving the home school of the CTA students, and the contractor with the highest average miles serving that home high school would be the first eliminated. Page 8 of 11

9 D. In the future additional runs may have to be implemented at the CTA. Additions to these 12 original CTA runs from the school year would, based on the best interests of the system, be offered to the contractor with the lowest mileage at the home high school. i. Runs added beyond the 12 original CTA runs from the school year may need to be eliminated at a later date. Those reductions would occur based on the implementation date of the added runs. In other words, the most recent addition to these 12 runs will become the first reduction. This will be applied until the assignments are sufficiently reduced. XV. Operations A. General: i. The Director of Transportation shall be responsible for the coordination and oversight of all contractors and all aspects of school bus/vehicle operations. XVI. School Buses/Vehicles A. Contractors may only utilize: i. New school buses/vehicles which comply with the requirements as set forth herein; or School buses/vehicles previously approved for use in Maryland which comply with the requirements set forth herein. i All school buses/vehicles to be used in connection with a contract or a temporary route must be accepted by the Director of Transportation/designee prior to being placed into service. 1. All school buses must have a functioning two-radio, approved by the Director of Transportation/designee, installed prior to being accepted into service by contractors providing Transportation services to CCPS. (a) A school bus may be adequate for all other equipment, however the two-way radio may not yet be installed. Until Transportation has verification that the two-way radio has been installed that bus still cannot be used in service to Calvert County Public Schools 2. As funding is available, all yellow school buses in service to a contracted route or temporary routes must have a functioning audio-video surveillance system, approved by the Director of Transportation/designee, installed prior to placing the bus in service. iv. The Director of Transportation may deem a school bus/vehicle unfit for service and require its replacement by a school bus/vehicle that complies with all the terms within. XVII. School Bus/Vehicle Specifications A. All school buses/vehicles shall meet Type I or Type II School Vehicle Standards, Maryland Motor Vehicle Administration, COMAR 13A , effective date Page 9 of 11

10 January, 1995, plus any amendments to the specifications which have been made effective since that date. B. The Director, or designee, shall certify on the Acceptance Check Sheet that new vehicles placed in service meet the minimum specifications. C. Besides these requirements, each school bus/vehicle shall meet the following Calvert County Bus Specifications: XVIII. Maintenance i. Heater Rear heater mounted behind the rear wheel well with no less than 65,000 BTUs Mirrors All exterior mirrors shall be of the heated element type. i Steps A three-step stairwell will be used. iv. Service Door It will be outward opening. v. Yellow Reflective Material There will be national school bus yellow reflective material, comprised of a background for lettering of the front and rear school bus signs, when not electrically lighted. In addition, there shall be reflective tape outlining the rear perimeter of the bus, applied in accordance with COMAR regulations, and reflective tape outlining each required emergency exit, as described in federal regulations: 49CFR, Part , S5.5.3 (C). vi. Child Alert Alarms All buses will have alarm systems which must be turned off at the back of the bus. v Public Address System All buses must be equipped with an interior public address system, including a microphone accessible to the driver. vi Strobe Lights All School Buses must be equipped with strobe lights. ix. Liftgate Buses All liftgate buses must be approved for final specifications by the Director of Transportation in advance. x. Air Conditioning All buses specifically purchased for special education use will include full cabin air conditioning. Contractor payments will reflect this additional expense. These must be Director-approved additions. A. The contractor shall maintain all school buses/vehicles so they are in compliance with all federal, state, and Board laws, regulations, rules, and policies as amended at all times. B. The contractor shall maintain all school buses/vehicles in clean and sanitary condition at all times. XIX. Inspections A. In addition to any other inspections required by law, contractors shall be required to submit to a minimum of three (3) safety inspections per year in addition to their required annual preventive maintenance inspection. Buses with more than 11 years of service may be subject to additional inspections. B. The Director shall designate the time, place and staffing of the inspections. C. In addition to the inspections set forth above, the Director may also require other inspections at any time. Page 10 of 11

11 XX. Restrictions on Re-Sale A. Prior to the sale of a school bus which has been accepted for service by the Director, the contractor shall be required to obtain the approval of the Director. Failure to obtain the approval of the Director shall be deemed a breach of contract and the Director may petition to set aside such unapproved sale. B. Contractors must notify the Director, in writing, ten (10) business days prior to their intended date sale of a school bus to a party who does not provide Transportation services to CCPS. This is to allow for the removal of any radios, audio-visual equipment or other equipment that is the property of CCPS. XXI. Paid Spare Buses A. The number of paid spare buses will be determined by the Director based on the needs of the system but with at least two (2) regular buses and one (1) wheelchair bus in each Transportation District. Contractors who have been assigned paid spares in past years will continue to be offered the opportunity for a paid spare as long as they have the buses necessary. The assignment of new paid spare buses will be determined by the date of a written request for such a contract from an interested contractor. B. Spare buses shall be available during the time school buses are providing Transportation Services to and from school for students. C. Spare buses are restricted to replacing a school bus under contract which is out of service for repair or maintenance, unless specifically authorized by the Director to be used in another capacity. D. A daily use log shall be kept by the contractor for all spare buses which shall contain the following: i. Spare bus number The number of the bus it is replacing i Date, time, and odometer reading each time the spare bus leaves the primary bus lot iv. Date, time, and odometer reading each time the spare bus returns to the primary bus lot. E. It shall be the responsibility of the Contractor who is assigned a paid spare bus: i. To maintain the paid spare bus so it is in good working order at all times. To ensure that the spare buses will be available at all times from the primary bus lots as assigned by the Director and will be fueled with keys available. i To maintain the documentation on the paid spare bus of the date, time and odometer readings for the bus. Page 11 of 11