Perry County approves bus contracts with two companies

PERRYVILLE, Mo. -- Perry County School District No. 32 School Board members Monday voted to contract with Meyer Bus Line Inc. of Perryville for a year, and then enter a lease agreement with Midwest Bus Sales of Litchfield, Ill., for the following four years.

Superintendent Scott Ireland has said alternatives to longtime bus contractor, Meyer Bus Line, would offer cost savings for the district.

The vote to stay with Meyer Bus Line for a year was 6-1 with member Scott Cooper dissenting and the vote to go with Midwest Bus Sales was 5-2 with board president Kevin Bachmann and member Mark Gremaud voting against the move.

"I felt that by deciding on a lease tonight we were limiting ourselves on other options," Bachmann said.

About 60 people attended the special meeting, held in the Career Center Multipurpose Room, and a few were vocal in their disapproval of the decision, with one audience member asking the panel to wait until the upcoming school board election.

Meyer Bus Line owner Brad Moll was given a couple of days to decide whether to accept the bus service contract arrangement with the school district. The company has a three-year contract with the district that ends June 30 at a cost of $1.863 million a year.

Under this agreement, Meyer provides the buses and the drivers. With a lease agreement, the district would cover the cost of a district transportation director and mechanic, all driver wages, fuel and insurance, according to information from the district.

Bachmann said the year would give the district time to get everything lined up to lease buses.

The district asked for five-year bids this time with the current routes remaining the same. Public information/marketing director Kate Martin said about 60 students who attend Perryville parochial schools, Immanuel Lutheran School and St. Vincent de Paul schools, ride on Meyer Bus Lines for a fee. Martin said it is against state statute for a public district to provide the rides free to parochial students.

Bachmann said arrangements for parochial school students will have to be worked out in the next year.

In its bid for a five-year contract, Meyer offered a cost of $1,595,329.50 a year, according to district information. Martin said the one-year contract would be the same.

Midwest Bus Sales came in with a $1,183,192 bid for 40 buses with three cameras on board. Total savings compared to the current contract with Meyer is $680,360.86, according to district information.

The regional Midwest Transit Equipment Co. bid a total of $1,185,938.14 on a lease agreement. This would mean a $677,614.86 savings over the current contract, the information said.

Currently, the district runs 28 regular and two special-service routes and four to five early childhood buses.

rcampbell@semissourian.com

388-3639

Pertinent address:

326 College St., Perryville, Mo.