Cape Girardeau school bus bid comes with prices not seen in years

The Cape Girardeau School District's new three-year contract with its longtime transportation services provider comes with competitive prices not seen in years, according to a district official.

Last week, the Cape Girardeau School Board unanimously approved the agreement with Cincinnati-based First Student Inc., the low bidder.

The winning bid came in at $998,744.40 for 2011-2012, $1,021,216.15 in 2012-2013, and $1,044,193.51 in the final year, according to district documents.

"When I researched and looked back at some numbers we had on record, I hadn't seen those type of figures since 2003 and 2004," said Neil Glass, the district's director of administrative services. "This is beneficial for the school district and a great outcome on the bidding process."

The pricing comes in considerably lower than what it would cost the district to launch its own fleet of buses, said Glass, who spent several months researching the feasibility of the district operating a transportation system.

In what he described as a "rough study," Glass projects it would cost about $1.2 million for a fleet of 30 buses, a transportation director, drivers and maintenance. Pricing on fuel, however, is the big question mark, according to Glass.

"It made my job a lot easier when contracted services came in at such a great rate. It was a no-brainer at that point to go with First Student," he said.

The company could not be reached for comment Friday.

Glass said the district will take another look at the feasibility of operating buses down the road, but at this point the numbers didn't pay off.

Turf dispute

The board also approved a construction bid package for artificial turf and a track at the Cape Girardeau Central High School Events Stadium, slated for completion in time for the start of the 2011 Tiger football campaign. Low bidder was synthetic turf specialist ATG Sports, at a total bid of $770,278.

The bid process did not sit well with competing bidder FieldTurf.

In an email to the Southeast Missourian, FieldTurf regional manager Mike Jones claims the district ignored its own bid specifications by going with ATG, a contractor whose product, Jones says, doesn't come close to the specification published.

"I could list numerous flaws with my competitor's product, but I think it will suffice to say that comparing ATG to the FieldTurf product that was specified is akin to comparing a 10 year house shingle to a 60 year house shingle," Jones wrote.

Jones says his company supplies more than 60 percent of the Division 1 programs, and currently 21 of 32 NFL teams play or practice on FieldTurf.

ATG representatives could not be reached for comment Friday, but Glass defended the district's decision and ATG. He said his turf committee interviewed several high schools and colleges, many in Missouri, and none had a negative word to say about ATG.

"They said their sports service was impeccable, that any time they had an issue -- and that was few and far between -- ATG was Johnny on the spot," Glass said. "They had nothing but praise about this company."

mkittle@semissourian.com

388-3627

Pertinent address:

301 N. Clark Ave. Cape Girardeau, MO