Lorain Schools to purchase buses, vans; new transportation contractor may not have buses ready

LORAIN — Lorain Schools plan to purchase buses and vans ahead of the coming school year. At an emergency meeting Wednesday morning, the Board of Education authorized Superintendent Jeff Graham to spend $2.4 million in Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief funds to buy 26 buses and four vans from ABC Transit in Pittsburgh. The move is a backup in case the district's newly contracted provider, Auxilio Services, doesn't have its buses ready in time, Graham said. "We honor and appreciate our contract, we fully expect Auxilio to transport our students, but in the event that doesn't happen, we need to have a backup plan," Graham said. Lorain Schools Board of Education approved a proposal from Auxilio at its April 25 meeting, after the Cincinnati-based company bid $2.2 million to cover the district's existing bus routes — compared to First Student's $3.8 million for the same service. Since then, Auxilio has secured 41 buses that are parked at the high school, and is working to get drivers for all its routes. But a number of its buses have not passed state inspections as of Wednesday morning as the buses were purchased from vendors throughout the Midwest; other states have different safety requirements. The State Highway Patrol conducts inspections of school buses throughout the state, and two of the safety points that have held up Auxilio's fleet are a fire-retardant material on the underside of the seats, and a switch allowing drivers to activate the stop arm and flashing lights without opening the bus door. Auxilio's fleet is in the midst of its inspection by the State Highway Patrol. The Chronicle-Telegram has requested those inspection reports. At Wednesday's meeting, Auxilio CEO Edward Dollin addressed some rumors and concerns, assuring the board his company would be ready to go by Aug. 15. "We will continue the process and we will get this done," Dollin said during the meeting. "We have done this before; this has been more challenging because of the supply chain." Lorain Schools classes starts Aug. 17, but some charter schools served by the district's buses start Aug. 15. He said the International brand buses are expected to pass inspection without an issue, but the Bluebird brand buses need the stop-arm switch installed. He said not all the seats need the fire retardant material placed on the bottom, as some already had it installed. He said Auxilio already is running six buses for field trips for the district. He estimated the company has between 23 and 25 drivers hired, and will have 35 to 37 drivers hired by the first week of September. After Dollin's presentation, the board adjourned into a brief executive session. After which, it voted to buy the 26 buses and four vans from ABC Transit. School Board President Bill Sturgill said the board gave Graham the permission to do whatever he needs to do to have transportation when school starts. "I hope Auxilio comes through … I hope he's as good as he says he is, I hope his company is great and it all goes real smooth," Sturgill said, adding later, "I need to know we're going to be OK to transport children when school opens." The $2.4 million purchase does not include bus drivers. After the board's vote, Dollin said he was "blindsided" by the decision, but he plans to continue to work toward meeting the district's needs. "We're not going to leave kids on the side of the road, I can tell you that," Dollin said. Graham disputed that the district's purchase was news to Dollin, as he'd been informed of the plan Tuesday. "Our attorneys are in contact and we fully expect Auxilio to transport our students this year … but we felt we needed to have a backup plan," Graham said. "We only purchased buses in the case that they cannot provide transportation for our students." If Auxilio is able to meet the district's needs, Lorain Schools can sell the buses and vans purchased, Graham said. Contact Carissa Woytach at (440) 329-7245 or cwoytach@chroniclet.com.