Committee splits 5-2 on $30M bus contract

School Committee · Meeting of August 27, 2026

Springfield School Committee splits 5-2 on $30 million First Student bus contract. Members Valentin and Vice Chair LaTonya Naylor voted no, citing years of parent complaints and the fact that no other company has ever bid against First Student, which Chief Financial Officer Patrick Roach said has served the district some 26 years. Roach said the district assessed over $1 million in liquidated damages against the vendor last year and called the lack of competing bidders "a problem across the Commonwealth." Member Crawford, who chairs Legislative and Contracts, said she would invite First Student to a subcommittee meeting to address service concerns directly.

The committee also approved roughly $38 million in other contracts — special education tuition, transportation, instructional materials — all unanimously, and heard literacy data showing second-grade reading proficiency rose from 46 percent to 54 percent districtwide over the past year.

In the full story:

• Who Was There
• Organizations And Documents Referenced
• The complete report — 3,334 words

Source: the School Committee meeting of August 27, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.