Mitchell School District Business Manager Steve Culhane said he and Superintendent Joe Graves will recommend at today's school board meeting that the district stay with its current school bus contractor, Dietrich's of Mitchell, Inc., which presented the lowest of three transportation bids.
Bids submitted by last Monday's deadline were from Foreman Sales, Miller; the Nebraska School Bus Co., Wayne, Neb.; and Dietrich's.
Dietrich's is completing a five-year contract with the district and if the board approves, another five-year contract will be extended Monday.
"Dietrich's bid was way cheaper than the other two," said Culhane. Representatives from the higher bidding companies acknowledged that the school district will have a good deal with the Dietrich's proposal, he said.
For the new contract, Dietrich's bid $1.96 per mile, while Foreman was $2.42 per mile. The Nebraska company bid $4,000 a month for each of the district's eight routes, or $32,000 a month, plus gas costs above $1.60 a gallon.
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Culhane said the cost of daily transportation for 174 days at 650 miles a day under each company's bid would cost: Dietrich's, $221,563; Foreman, $273,702; and Nebraska, $334,882.
Buses for field trips or shuttles would cost the district $38.76 an hour from Dietrich's; $35 an hour from Foreman; and $50 an hour from the Nebraska company.
The base rate bids for buses used for extracurricular events were: $1.96 a mile from Dietrich's; $1.80 a mile, Foreman; and $1.25 a mile from Nebraska.
The current contract with Dietrich's began at $1.39 a mile and now is $1.92 cents, with an addition of 26 cents a mile for fuel costs.
The new contract will start at $1.96 a mile and will include a mileage adjustment for fuel costs above a $2.70 a gallon.
