Mountainair Public Schools Request for Proposals regarding Bus Transportation for the 2024-2025 School Year

Please refer to the attached PDF for the original formatting. The following text of the RFP is provided for the purposes of e-readers and other assistive technology.

MOUNTAINAIR PUBLIC SCHOOLS
P.O. Box 456
512 NORTH ROSS
MOUNTAINAIR, N.M. 87036

REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL
Bus Transportation 2024-2025 School Year 24-25-001

Opening Date: JUNE 26, 2024
Mountainair Public Schools Administration Office
Attn: Peter Nieto
512 North Ross / P.O. Box 456 Mountainair, N.M. 87036

BIDDER INFORMATION:
We agree to provide the items as listed for the bid prices indicated on the attached Proposal Form. We agree to adhere to the General Conditions and Specifications of this bid.

I.
SUBMITTING BIDS
GENERAL CONDITIONS
24-25-001
II.
III.
A. Sealed Request for Proposals (RFP) will be received at the Administration Office of the Mountainair Public Schools, 512 North Ross, Mountainair, New Mexico in accordance with the advertisement. Bidder shall use the bid form included with the specifications RFP forms must bear the signature of the bidder to be considered. Failure of bidders to complete bidding documents in accordance with all instructions provided is cause for the Mountainair Public Schools to reject RFP.

B. It is the bidders’ responsibility to deliver the RFP at the proper time to the place designated. Pursuant to Section 13-1-191, NMSA, 1978, facsimile RFPs will not be accepted or considered.

C. To expedite identification of the RFP envelopes and to ensure RFP security, place the Bid Number on the lower left corner of the RFP envelope.

D. This bid will be submitted to the Mountainair Board of Education on Tuesday, July 30th, 2024.

TERM OF AGREEMENT
The Mountainair Public Schools are asking for an agreement. The term of this agreement shall be for the 2024-2025 school year, with an option to extend an additional three (3) years, one year at a time if mutually agreeable with the Mountainair Public Schools and the contractor, in accordance with the Attorney General ruling.

AWARD OF CONTRACT
A. The Mountainair Public Schools Board of Education reserves the right to waive irregularities in RFP’s and to reject any or all bids or portions thereof. They may award to the bidder whose bid is deemed to be in the best interest of the Mountainair Public Schools.

B. To preclude possible errors and/or misinterpretations, bid prices must be affixed legibly in ink, or typewritten. Corrections or changes must be signed or initialed by bidder prior to scheduled bid opening. Failure to do so will be just cause for rejection of bid.

C. Bids may be withdrawn upon receipt of written request, prior to scheduled bid opening for the purpose of making any corrections and/or changes. Such corrections must be properly identified and signed or initialed by bidder. Resubmitting must be prior to scheduled bid opening for consideration.

D. After bid opening, no modifications on bid prices or other provisions of bids shall be permitted. A low bidder alleging a material mistake of fact, after bids have opened, may be permitted to withdraw the bid upon written request prior to the award at the discretion of the Business Manager.

PURPOSE
REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL
2024-2025 SCHOOL YEAR BUS TRANSPORTATION
The proposal is for the purpose of procuring school bus transportation including service for special education students, for the Mountainair Public Schools 2024-2025 school year.

The District intends to ultimately award a negotiated contract to provide school transportation services under terms and conditions Mountainair Public Schools considers to be the most favorable among those offered.

The District reserves the right to negotiate with the successful proposer any additional terms and conditions, which may be necessary or appropriate to the accomplishment of the purpose and scope of the RFP.

The District reserves the right to reject any or all proposals in part or in whole.
Proposals will not be opened publicly, but will be opened in the presence of three or more board members.

Evaluation procedures will not only consider the experience of the Contractor, but will weigh the overall cost-effectiveness and safety of the services.

Proposals will be received by the Mountainair Public Schools, 512 North Ross, Mountainair, N.M. until 4:00 P.M. on Monday, July 29, 2024.

Proposal packets are available at 512 North Ross and online at www.mountainairpublicschools.net.

SCOPE OF WORK
The Contractor selected as a result of the combined qualifications & evaluation shall be expected to:

• Provide the safest, most reliable student to-and-from transportation services available. Students are to receive transportation services to and from Mountainair Public Schools to and from their homes. This service is to include service for special education students.
• Provide school buses, drivers, aides and all other related equipment and personnel necessary to perform the service requirements.
• Meet all state and federal requirements as regulated by the School Transportation Division of the New Mexico Public Education Department.
• Driver/Contractor must keep a log of all students riding their bus route(s) each day of service. Mountainair Public Schools will monitor log books for verification. Log books must be obtained for each daily trip. These records must be up to date and available to the district for auditing purposes.
  

PREPARATION OF PROPOSAL
Five (5) copies of the proposal shall be submitted in a sealed container with the proposal title, number, name and address of the proposing contractor clearly indicated on the outside of the container. The District may consider non-responsive any proposals not prepared and submitted in accordance with the provisions thereof and may waive any informalities or reject any and/or all proposals. Any proposal received after the time and date specified shall not be considered.

• Contractor shall comply with all instructions and provide all the information requested. Failure to do so may disqualify a proposal.
• All information shall be given in ink or typewritten. Any corrections shall be initialed in ink by the person signing the proposal.
• All proposals shall be signed in ink by an authorized officer or employee of the proposing firm authorized to contract work for the firm. A proposal that is not signed will be considered non- responsive and will not be accepted.
• Proposals must be submitted by the date and at, or prior to, the time specified to be considered. Late proposals will not be accepted.
• Proposals must be withdrawn by written notice at any time prior to their opening.
  

LAWS AND REGULATIONS
The proposing firm’s attention is directed to the fact that all applicable Federal Laws, State Laws, Municipal Ordinances, and the rules and regulations of all authorities having jurisdiction over said item shall apply to the contract throughout, and they will be deemed to be included in the contract the same as though herein written out in full.

Proposals shall include all required documents pursuant to 6.43.2 NMAC; Requirement for School Bus Contracts and Per Capita Feeder Agreements.

INFORMATION PROVIDED BY THE LOCAL BOARD
The local board shall provide each proposed offeror with the following information:

• The proposal criteria.
• Route information as soon as available, which includes the approximate distance, types of roadways, number of students to be transported, and the size of the buses required.
• A copy of the contract form approved by the State Board of Education.
• A copy of, or access to, all State Board of Education regulations, and local board compliance manuals and policies, which govern the operation of school transportation services.
• A description of the insurance coverage that will be provided by the local board for buses to be operated under contract.
  
  EVALUATION AND CRITERIA
  The District shall evaluate the contractor’s proposal based on the following criteria:
• A minimum of three business or professional references.
• A history of providing transportation services.
• A proposal for the acquisition of buses and other needed equipment. The proposal shall indicate the year of the manufacture and the size of buses to serve the route and necessary spare equipment to provide uninterrupted service.
• A description of the proposed fleet maintenance program, garage or maintenance facilities, bus parking, mechanics, parts and supplies. In the case of a small fleet operation, a description shall be submitted relative to garage services planned by the owner with an established automotive repair facility.
• A description of the service capability available for the offeror that includes administrative support, scheduling, hours of operation, emergency back-up buses, emergency roadside service, etc.
• A description of current and future plans to develop a positive and professional working business relationship with district personnel, including the transportation director.
• A copy of a proposed contract describing the approach to be taken by the contractor in servicing the contract including details on provisions for bus and driver availability, hours of availability, types of buses, administrative support in terms of scheduling, mileage and/or other related information, etc.
  

The responsible contractor whose proposal is most advantageous to the Mountainair Public School District shall be recommended for selection to perform the services. The relative weight to be given to each of the evaluation factors is set forth.

• References
• History of services
• Buses & necessary spare equipment
• Fleet maintenance
• Service capability
• Cost of services & driver selection
• Itemized costs
• Working business relationship
  

METHOD OF AWARD
Proposals will not be opened publicly, but will be opened in the presence of three or more board members.

Evaluation will be conducted by a review committee considering the evaluation factors listed in Evaluation and Criteria. The committee will rank proposals according to their relative merits.

The District and its representatives reserve the right at any time to request clarification from any or all contractors submitting a proposal.

The District reserves the right to interview the short list of applicants. Should interviews be scheduled, they will consist of a short presentation with a question-and-answer period. Offerors submitting responsive proposals may be given an opportunity to interview, prior to award, for the purpose of obtaining the offeror’s best and final offer, whereas;

Any substantial revision will be accepted in writing from the offeror.

The process of discussion may extend up to the time of award and may require public presentation by the offeror.

Offerors may request within their responses non-disclosure of confidential data. There is, however, no guarantee that proprietary data will remain exclusively confidential.

In the event that the needs of the district cannot be satisfied by a single contractor, the award shall be issued to as many firms as necessary to satisfy the needs.

Subsequent services shall be obtained from awarded firms based on final ranking as approved by the Board of Education.

The contract period will commence August 12th, 2024 and end May 22nd, 2025.

The contract or contracts may be renewed annually pending approval by the Board of Education for up to an additional three (3) years.

The Board of Education shall consider the committee’s recommendation award on July 30th, 2024 public meeting.

The District reserves the right to accept or reject any or all proposals in whole or in part and to waive minor technicalities as determined by the district to serve its best interest.

SPECIAL CONDITIONS
GENERAL
When the District issues a purchase order document in response to the contractor’s proposal, a binding contract is created.

The offeror must be qualified to transact the type of business required.

The successful offeror must provide time tables, schedules, sample of report formats and other proposal documents to the district with its proposal.

ASSIGNMENT
Neither the order, nor any interest therein, no claim under shall be assigned or transferred by the contractor,exceptasexpresslyauthorizedinwritingbytheDistrict. Nosuchconsentshallrelieve the contractor from its obligations and liabilities under this order.

SCOPE OF WORK
Increase or decrease in scope of work can be made upon request by the District or unless such variation has been caused by documented conditions beyond the contractor’s control, and then only to the extent of any variation specified elsewhere in this document.

PROTEST PROCEDURES
Any Bidder, Offeror, or Contractor who is aggrieved in connection with procurement may protest to Peter Nieto, Business Manager. The protest must be in writing and be submitted within fifteen (15) days after the fact or occurrences.

PROPOSAL FORM
Provide Student Transportation Services from Mountainair Public Schools to/from their homes during district school days as approved by the Mountainair Board of Education. This service is to include service for special education students. This proposal is based on a per bus per day basis.

Current Allowed Bid: $281.15 per bus per day
Number of Days: 152 days
Allowed # of Buses: 4 buses
Allowed Total Bid: $170,939.20
The Mountainair Board of Education will make the final determination on any issues that may arise.