Babylon UFSD Transportation - Babylon K

Transcription

Babylon UFSD
Transportation
A Road Map for Fact Finding
03/16/15
Prepared by Robyn Silvestri, tel. 631-848-0210, robyn.silvestri@gmail.com
District parent, Based on info received from Babylon School District under Freedom of Information Act.
Good evening. My name is Robyn Silvestri. I’m a district parent with four
children in Babylon School District. After struggling to get my transportation
issues resolved with the District, I became curious as to what service are we
providing district residents for $2.2 million dollars per year?
To satisfy that curiosity, I filed a Freedom of Information letter & asked for
copies of the transportation budget, the bus contracts, the request for
proposals when the contracts were bid out, the small & large bus routes, and
more.
I started out hoping to improve routing to better serve the needs of the
community by suggesting changes to our current transportation policy and
routing. But as I delved deeper into the documentation provided I was struck
by its inefficiencies.
The presentation I’m about to make is based on the data received from District
Administration. I’m truly hoping the data is somehow incomplete and there will
be a logical and reasonable explanation for what I’m about to present. Under
the FOI Act, the district was obliged to provide full disclosure based on the
request. It is a lot of information so I encourage you to note any questions you
may have as we go along. It is broken down into three main sections: the large
bus contract, the small bus contract and the bidding process. It answered as
many of my questions, as it posed new ones. I invite you to draw your own
conclusions from the data.
K-12 Student Enrollment down 17.5%
Data collected from NYS DOE School Report Cards.
Page 3
Prepared by Robyn Silvestri, robyn.silvestri@gmail.com, tel. 631-848-0210
District parent based on info received from Babylon School District under Freedom of Information Act
2/3/15
Let’s start with some historical context. Student Enrollment in Babylon School
District is down nearly 18% since 2001.
Transportation Expenditures up 108%
Data collected from NYS Open Book website.
Page 4
2/3/15
In the same time span, district transportation expenditures have more than
doubled, from just over $1 million in 2001-2002 to nearly $2.2 million dollars in
2013-2014.
2014-2015 Transportation Budget
Page 5
Here is our current transportation budget nearly $2.3 million.
2/3/15
Students Served
Page 6
These are the total number of students served.
491 in-district students qualify for the bus
90 Private school students
40 Special Education students
57 Boces Students
2/3/15
Contractor: John Bosch Bus Inc.
John Bosch Bus Co is the sole district transportation provider.
●
Large buses contract - services K-12 students (491 ) & BOCES (57)
●
Small buses contract - services Special Ed (40) & Private (90)
●
Athletics & field trips are pay-as-you-go services
Page 7
2/3/15
We currently contract exclusively with John Bosch Bus Co. located here in
Babylon Village. We have a large bus contract that services the K-12 &
BOCES students and a small bus contract that services Special Ed & Private
School students. According to Dr. Daly, athletics and field trips are pay-as-yougo services. Despite FOIL-ing all bus contracts, the district did not provide
documentation as to how athletics & field trips are calculated.
Current Contract Values
●
Large buses contract serves 548 students @ $589,373/year
●
Small buses contract services 130 students @ $1,742,609/year
●
Athletics & field trip data was not provided by the district.
Page 8
2/3/15
Our large bus contract serves 548 students and is valued at $589,373 this
year.
Our small bus contract serves 130 students and is valued this year at
$1,742,609.
I was not provided with numbers on how athletics or field trips are calculated.
Contract vs. Budget
$589,373
$1,742,609
Large bus contract
Small bus contract
$2,331,982
Excluding athletics & field trips
>
$2,284,776
Page 9
Budget for 2014-2015
2/3/15
I’m a numbers person. And numbers must add up. But if you add those two
contract numbers together, they amount to $2.33 million dollars. Our budget
for this year is $2.28 million. I am unsure as to how we can sign contracts for
more than we actually budgeted, particularly when it doesn’t even include all
line items.
Large Bus “Contract”
Page 10
●
Renewal invoice, not a contract
●
11 large buses @ $53,579 per bus = $589,373
2/3/15
Let’s start with the Large Buses. In response to my FOI request for the bus
contracts, district provided these two pages for the large bus agreement. This
is not a contract. This is a renewal invoice. The full contract should outline
specific duties & responsibilities. However, I included this so you can see
where the following numbers stem from. We contract for 11 buses @ $53,579
/bus.
1.Run BMGS
1
4
2
5
3
Page 11
2/3/15
Also under the FOI law, I requested the routing documents for both the large
and small buses, namely where do the buses go and how many students are
they supposed to pick up along the way. I received the following.
Our buses make 2 runs.
Run 1: HS/BMGS Routes, 1-8 including the Beach
Run 2: BES Routes, 1-8 including the Beach
1.Run BMGS
6
8/Beach
7
Page 12
2/3/15
2.Run BES
1
3
2
Page 13
2/3/15
2.Run BES
4/Beach
7
5
8
6
Page 14
2/3/15
Question to Dr. Daly
Page 15
2/3/15
I had to ask for clarification: We pay for 11 buses at $53,579 / bus but I only
counted 8 large bus routes. Dr. Daly responded that we have 10 routes. The
eight routes provided plus a large Beach bus and a large BOCES bus.
However, the large beach bus is already counted in the original 8 routes.
In addition, no routing data was provided for a large bus going to the BOCES
program. The BOCES data that has been provided shows that these students
are in fact serviced using small buses.
Large Bus Issue #1: Total Routes
●
Contract & pay for 11 large buses.
●
Routing data shows we use 8 large buses.
●
District charged for at least three unused, large buses @ $53,579 per bus.
$160,737 per year
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2/3/15
This leads me to the first issue with the Large Bus Contract: We pay for 11
large buses but routing data shows we use 8. Three large bus have no routing
data. At $53,579 per bus that’s $160,737 per year we are spending on buses
that aren’t going anywhere.
Run 1: BMGS Routes
●
Tan: One stop, route run = 5 min.
●
Yellow/Gold/Orange provide 180
seats for 85 qualifying students.
●
Blue: One stop @ Argyle Lake
●
Blue/Tan/Pink/Yellow: Students
walk up to a mile to nearest stop
BMGS (237 + 15 riders)
1) Blue
37
22 min
2) Gold
22
12 min
3) Green 44
31 min
4) Orange 30
19 min
5) Pink
43
24 min
6) Tan
28
5 min
7) Yellow 33
22 min
8) Beach 15
65 min
Unofficial maps prepared using bus routes provided under FOIA. Intended for illustrative purposes only.
Let’s now take at the current in-town routing. Four years ago, the DOE
interpreted the Transportation section of the law and instructed districts to
route their buses for efficiency. Our bus routes have remained largely
unchanged since at least 2008, likely much longer. The format of the data
provided did not present a clear picture. So I drew one using the information at
hand.
Run 1: BMGS Routes. Considered in this run are seven in-town routes, named
as colors. We have one route that has a total of one stop and a runtime of 5
minutes. We use 3 full size buses to send 180 seats to an area of town that
only has 85 qualifying students. In addition, the service provided to the narrow
areas & dead end streets actually encourages parents not to take the bus as
they must walk up to nearly a mile to get to the nearest stop.
Run 2: BES Routes
●
Blue: Full route for 17 students
●
Yellow/Gold/Tan routes: provide
180 seats for 99 students.
●
Blue: One stop services the entire
Argyle Lake area.
●
Blue/Yellow/Pink: Students on
dead ends walk up to nearly a mile
to nearest stop
BES (229 + 10 riders)
1) Blue
17
13 min
2) Gold
30
19 min
3) Green 33
24 min
4) Orange 41
21 min
5) Pink
39
22 min
6) Tan
42
25 min
7) Yellow 27
20 min
8) Beach 10
64 min
Unofficial maps prepared using bus routes provided under FOIA. Intended for illustrative purposes only.
On the 2nd run, a similar situation appears. One 60 passenger bus is routed to
pick up 17 children, if everyone actually got on. Ten of those 17 live in the
Argyle area which means a walk of up to ½ mile to get to the bus stop. That
same cluster of three buses goes to the southeast corner of the Village where
on this run 99 students qualify. The narrow areas & dead end streets bus
stops are set up in the same way as the previous run.
Reroute: BMGS
DOE: Must route for efficiency
# of buses needed in-town for 237
students when routed for efficiency:
BMGS (237 riders)
1) Blue
4
58
2) Purple 60
3) Green 57
4) Red
57
In a matter of a couple of hours, with a printout of the village and the existing
route data, I plotted out what efficient bus routes might look like. With a seat
reserved for every eligible student, though we are not obliged to, Babylon
School District could service it’s in-town routes using four not seven large
buses. Yes, this would make bus routes have a bit longer run times, but
remember our Village is only less than two square miles.
Reroute: BES
DOE: Must route for efficiency
# of buses needed for 229 in-town
students when routed for efficiency:
BES (229 riders)
1) Blue
4
50
2) Purple 62
3) Green 45
4) Red
59
I tested to see if the same would hold true for the BES run. It does.
Large Bus Issue #2: In-Town
●
Paying for 7 large buses (420 seats)
●
Routing data shows we only need 4 large buses (240 seats).
●
District paying for three unnecessary large buses @ $53,579 per bus.
Another $160,737 per year
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2/3/15
This is issue #2: 7 buses are being paid for when four buses would meet our
needs. We have been paying for three unnecessary buses. That’s a waste of
another $160,737 per year.
Let’s Add That Up So Far
●
Pay for 11 buses.
●
4 needed for in-town + 1 for the the Beach = 5 total buses
●
= 6 buses @ $53,579 per that not used or needed.
$321,474
And we pay extra for athletics & field trips.
Page 22
2/3/15
We pay for 11 buses. 4 needed for in-town + 1 for the the Beach = 5 total
buses. But we pay for 11. That’s six extra buses we are paying for @ $53,579
per bus that we either don’t use or don’t need. That adds up to $321,474. And
we pay extra for field trips & athletics.
Beach Buses
● Pay for 1 large bus to make the two runs to the beach in
the am & pm
● Run 1: 15 students
● Run 2: 10 students
● Better served by a small bus.
● Run 1 am: large bus.
● Run 2 am: small bus. Costs less - savings passed along?
● PM run is a large bus that picks up at HS/BMGS/BES in
one run. Not two separate runs. Savings accounted for?
Page 23
2/3/15
Let’s take a look at the Beach buses. According to the routing data, we pay for
a large bus to go over to the Beach on the two runs. On the run 1, it is slated
to pick up 15 students. On run 2: 10 students. This route would be more
economically served using a small bus. Run 1 is a large bus. Run 2 is in fact a
small bus. Now the small bus costs less than the large bus, not a lot, but it’s
still $1200 less. Is this savings being passed along as Bosch is not using the
large bus? Further, in the afternoon, there is a single run to the beach which
picks up at all three schools before heading back to the beach. Are these
savings of using one less bus in the afternoon accounted for?
Request for Proposal (RFP) 2008
Page 24
2/3/15
Finally, on the large buses, under the Request for Proposal, it indicates how
time is calculated for the purposes of this contract.
Large Bus Issue #3: Time Contracted
●
8,140 = # hours contracted (11 x 4 x 185)
●
2,515 = # hours used return routes BMGS (1,282) + BES (1,233)
●
5,625 = # of excess hours contracted & paid under large bus contract
But athletics & field trips are extra, pay-as-you-go services.
Page 25
2/3/15
This leads to issue #3 on the large bus contract. According to the renewal
documents and confirmed by District, we pay for 11 buses for four hours a
day.
8140 = number of hours contracted (11 buses x 4 hours x 185 days per year)
2515 = number of hours actually used according to the routing data
That leaves us paying for over 5,600 excess hours on our bus contract. And
we pay extra for field trips & athletics - up to $211,000 extra is budgeted.
Large Bus Issue Summary
1 large bus = $53,579 per year
Unused buses x 3:
$160,737 per year
Inefficient buses x 3: $160,737 per year
Beach buses:
$??
Min. Wasted Funds:
$331,458 per year
And athletics & field trips are budgeted at
Page 26
(another $211,000).
2/3/15
Let’s summarize the Large Bus Contract Issues before we move on.
One large bus costs $53,579/year.
We are paying for 11. We have three that don’t have routes attached. We have
another three that are inefficiently routed.
We pay for three times the time we actually use on these buses but are paying
additionally for athletics and field trips.
With some relatively simple rerouting, there are tremendous savings to be
found here while providing a higher level of service.
Small Bus “Contract”
Page 27
●
Renewal invoice, not a contract
●
2nd FOIL request for the actual contract filed.
Legally obligated to provide the document.
2/3/15
So let’s take a look at the small bus contract that actually represents the lion’s
share of the transportation budget at $1,742,609. Please note this also is not a
contract but rather a renewal invoice. Although legally obliged to do so, Dr.
Daly has not provided to date the full contract despite 2 FOIL requests.
Small Bus Details
●
Small bus contract services 130 students
○ Special Ed: 40 students
○ Non-public: 90 students
●
Contract: $1,742,609/year
○ 8 matrons @ $28,750 = $230,005
○ 27.75 x 4 hour buses = $1,453,824
○ 1 wheelchair-accessible bus = $58,779
●
Average cost/small bus = $52,390 (without matron)
Page 28
2/3/15
This $1,742,609 is spent to service 130 students. 40 special education and 90
non-public/private school students.
According to the renewal documents, that number is broken down as follows:
$28,750 per matron who rides along ($230,005)
$1,453,824 for 27.75 x 4 hour buses
+ $58,779 for a wheelchair accessible bus.
That puts a small bus cost at $52,390.
# of Small Buses Contracted
We only pay for the small buses that we use. We currently use 19.
Page 29
2/3/15
We only pay for the buses we actually use which is currently 19. It is not clear
from the documentation if that applies to the matrons & wheelchair bus as well
or if we pay for them whether we use them or not.
Small Bus Routes
Estimation of the small bus
routes based on data
provided.
Page 30
2/3/15
So as with the large, I FOIL-ed the routes for the small buses. I did my best to
plot them out to see what system was being used. This was the best
estimation.
Fasten Your Seatbelt
Please note that each one
of the following slides represents
$52,390-$81,140*
at a minimum.
*$81,140 if a matron rides aboard.
Page 31
2/3/15
I’m going to now show you those routes. Remember each of the following
slides represents at a minimum $52,390 or up to $81,140 if a matron rides
along. I will share a few observations along they way. Please note these are
redacted to protect the privacy of the students served.
Small Bus Routes: Route 4/19
$52,390/year
Page 32
2/3/15
The first three slides show three separates buses all going within 1.5 miles
radius of each other in West Islip. The fourth shows a bus passes them to go
to St. Patrick’s in Bay Shore.
$52,390/year
Page 33
2/3/15
Notes: Routes N also goes from Babylon to West
Islip. Routes A and D originate at Beach drop off
in West Islip.
$52,390/year
Page 34
2/3/15
Notes: Routes D also goes from Beach to West Islip. Routes G and N originate in Babylon & drop off in West Islip.
Route C goes from Bellmore to Babylon passing Massapequa Park along the way.
$52,390/year
Page 35
2/3/15
$52,390/year
Page 36
2/3/15
The next three routes are similarly sent to Dix Hills with two buses going to the
same exact school & a third to a school located less than four miles away.
$52,390/year
Page 37
2/3/15
$52,390/year
Page 38
2/3/15
Is Republic considered AM/MidDay/PM BOCES?
$52,390/year
Page 39
2/3/15
Remember Dr. Daly said that two large buses service the BOCES students.
However, the next three slides show that it is in fact small buses that take
those children to school.
Route S, at $52,390/year, makes a single pick up stop in the afternoon for one,
possibly two, children. And is done for the day. $52,390.
$52,390/year
IS BOCES Manor Plains AM/Mid-Day/PM
BOCES? Notes: According to Dr. Daly, we pay
for one full large bus to Route BOCES.
Page 40
2/3/15
$52,390/year
Page 41
2/3/15
$52,390/year
Notes: Why does this bus go East to then go West in the am? Can’t pm routing be combined with Ronkonkoma bus?
Merrick pick up works with route E. Fold route J going to Ronkonkoma into M going to East Islip.
Page 42
2/3/15
And so it continues for the remaining 9 slides with multiple bus being paid to
transport as few as one child to an outside school.
$52,390/year
Page 43
2/3/15
$52,390/year
Page 44
2/3/15
$52,390/year
Page 45
2/3/15
$52,390/year
Page 46
2/3/15
$52,390/year
Page 47
2/3/15
$52,390/year
Page 48
2/3/15
$52,390/year
Page 49
2/3/15
$52,390/year
Bus 1507 is actually a large bus.
Page 50
2/3/15
Small Bus Issue #1: Excessive capacity
●
The data shows that with conservative rerouting, taking into account start
times & locations, we could reduce the number of small buses to possibly 9.
●
Eliminating 10 small buses @ $52,390 per year per bus.
$520,390 per year
●
Page 51
Possibly much more, if matrons can also be consolidated.
2/3/15
I had been informed by the transportation department that routing the small
busses was a very complicated. And I will admit, it was a bit daunting at first.
But with a little effort and the existing data, I found that with rerouting, up to ten
of these bus routes could possibly be eliminated while still getting the children
to their various schools on time. That is 10 buses @ $52,390 per year,
possibly more if matrons are also riding on these buses. $520,390 being
wasted on inefficiently routed buses.
If we worked together with other local districts to combine bus resources going
to the same locations, perhaps even more savings could be found.
Small bus issue #2: Excess Contracted Time
●
●
Total # of combined route hours/day:
29
Total contracted per day (4 hrs x19 buses): 76
●
Excess daily time contracted:
47 hours/day
x 185 days (per RFP)
8,695 excess hours/year
($52,390 / 185 days / 4 hours = $70.79/hour)
$615,582/year
Athletics & field trips are extras, and students walk to BES from BHS
for after school practices.
Page 52
2/3/15
In addition, and similarly to the large buses, we contract each small bus for
four hours. Counting only the buses we pay for, 19 @ 4 hours per day, we
contract & pay for 76 hours per day. The 19 small bus routes use a total of 29
hours per day. That leaves us paying for 47 bus hours per day that are
unused. @$70.79/hour that’s an overpayment of $615,582 per year!
Remember, we pay for athletics & field trips separately and students are
expected to walk from BHS to BES for after school sports practices are buses
are not available.
Bid Process - District Policy
Page 53
2/3/15
In recent days, I have had a chance to review the District’s Purchasing Policy
and the bid process. This slide shows where the District’s Purchasing Policy
requires public work contract involving an expenditure of $35,000 or more to
be put out to bid.
Acme/Baumann Small Bus Contract Extended
Page 54
In June 2008, the BOE extended the existing small bus contract with Acme
Bus Co. for the following year.
2/3/15
Small Bus Contract Awarded to Bosch
Page 55
2/3/15
The following Spring, at the May 2009 BOE meeting, a small bus contract was
entered into with John Bosch.
RFP is MIA on Small Bus Contract
To my knowledge, no RFP documentation exists for entering into a small bus
contract (currently valued at $1.7 million dollars).
Page 56
2/3/15
Currently valued at $1,742,649 million dollars, this contract was never put out
to bid.
RFP Large Bus Contract
Page 57
●
Large bus contract last bid out in 2008
●
Bid request was for 10 x 6 hour buses.
2/3/15
The Large bus contract was last bid out in 2008. For some reason, despite 11
x four hours providing excessive capacity, this RFP called for 10x 6 hour
buses.
RFP Proposals
Page 58
●
3 bid proposals received
●
Bosch, Baumann & Towne
●
Towne bid lacked supporting
documentation to be
considered a qualifying bid.
2/3/15
8 bid requests were sent out, three bids were returned. Baumann, Bosch &
Towne bus companies responded. Towne’s proposal had no supporting
documentation or even required initialing so therefore cannot be considered a
contending bid.
RFP Proposals
Baumann
$59,499 x 10 =
$594,990
John Bosch
$63,774 x 10
= $637,740
Page 59
2/3/15
Of the two remaining bids, Baumann was by far the lower bid coming in over at
$40,000 less than Bosch.
Proposals Rejected
Page 60
2/3/15
At the May 12, 2008 BOE these two bids were summarily rejected in
accordance with Section 103 of the General Municipal Law. No further reasons
were given in the minutes.
N.Y. GMU. LAW § 103 : NY Code - Section 103: Advertising for
bids; letting of contracts; criminal conspiracies
Page 61
2/3/15
Section 103 of the General Municipal Law, does allow for bids to be rejected
and put out to bid again.
But this contract was never put out to bid again, neither at that time nor at any
time since.
Section 103: Reforming a contract is strictly prohibited
Page 62
2/3/15
Further, Section 103: On Advertising for bids; letting of contracts; and criminal
conspiracies, clearly provides for bid mistakes. I’ve highlighted the section
which reads: Any amendment to or reformation of a bid or a contract to rectify
such an error or mistake therein is strictly prohibited. You can reject all bids
but you cannot amend an existing bid or contract to correct for a mistake.
Large Bus Contract Extended with Bosch
Page 63
2/3/15
But in May 2009, while the Bosch bid was by far not the lowest, their large bus
contract was extended. This does not seem to honor the intent of Section 103.
Who’s looking under the hood?
We are paying for:
●
3 large buses with no routing data
$160,737
●
3 unnecessary bus
$160,737
●
Inefficient small bus routing
$520,390 (more with matrons)
●
Extra for athletics & field trips
$211,000
$1,052,864/year x how many years??
Page 64
Instead we are paying for:
●
3 large buses with no routing data
$160,737
●
Inefficient large bus routing
$160,737
●
Inefficient small bus routing
$520,390 (more with
matrons)
●
Extra for athletics & field trips
$211,000
$1,052,864/year x how many years??
2/3/15
Budget 2015-2016
2015-2016 Proposed
Transportation
Budget increase:
+$34,000
$2,318,972
Page 65
2/3/15
And on top of that Administration is proposing a $34,000 increase in the
transportation budget for next year without a single concrete suggestion as to
how we can make it more efficient. I have proposed some ideas, such as
working with nearby school districts to cut transportation costs to out of district
schools. But I was told by administration that it was too much work to manage.
And for many years, we have asked individually for the buses to better serve
the geography of our community. Most recently, we were told by administration
that it needs a directive to do so. A directive? To do the job right?
Who’s Looking Out for Us?
●
Severely bloated
●
Little regard for the competitive bidding process.
●
Full of opportunities to save taxpayer dollars
●
Provide much higher level of service to the district’s residents.
Page 66
2/3/15
I would like to conclude by saying that our district’s transportation system
presents itself as bloated and with little regard for the legally mandated
competitive bidding process. It is full of opportunities to save taxpayer dollars
and provide better service to the district’s residents. And remember, it
represents less than 5% of our total school budget.
This is not the level of service that Babylon residents have come to expect, nor
are we willing to accept it any longer.
For our part, the residents have started a petition to amend policy. We
welcome the introduction of a Transportation Committee where our voices can
be heard. For the remainder, we look to you Board of Education our elected
representatives.
BOE: Answers & Accountability
We have an opportunity to make this right. Right now.
●
Demand accountability from Administration
●
Conduct a full performance audit of bussing dating back to 2001
●
Recover funds paid for services not rendered
●
Bid out all bus contracts as soon as possible.
●
Make transportation work for the residents of Babylon Village.
Page 67
2/3/15
We have an opportunity to make this right. Right now.
Demand accountability
●
●
●
●
Conduct a full performance audit of transportation dating back to 2001
(so we can finally know how this situation has come to be.
Recover funds paid for services not rendered
Bid out all bus contracts as soon as possible.
Solutions for making transportation work for the people who live in the
Village of Babylon.
We ask this as a community looking to move forward. Thank you.

Babylon UFSD Transportation - Babylon K

Transcription

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