ASSEMBLY, No. 1821
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
INTRODUCED MARCH 28, 1996
By Assemblyman CORODEMUS
An Act concerning the transportation of school pupils and amending N.J.S.18A:39-3.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. N.J.S.18A:39-3 is amended to read as follows:
18A:39-3. a. No contract for the transportation of pupils to and from school shall be made, when the amount to be paid during the school year for such transportation shall exceed $7,500.00 or the amount determined pursuant to subsection b. of this section, and have the approval of the county superintendent of schools, unless the board of education making such contract shall have first publicly advertised for bids therefor in a newspaper published in the district or, if no newspaper is published therein, in a newspaper circulating in the district, once, at least 10 days prior to the date fixed for receiving proposals for such transportation, and shall have awarded the contract to the lowest responsible bidder.
Nothing in this chapter shall require the advertisement and letting on proposals or bids of annual extensions, approved by the county superintendent, of any contract for transportation entered into through competitive bidding when--
(1) Such annual extensions impose no additional cost upon the board of education, regardless of the fact that the route description has changed; or
(2) The increase in the original contractual amount as a result of such extensions does not exceed 30% thereof, regardless of the fact that the route description has changed or an aide has been added or removed; or
(3) (Deleted by amendment, P.L.1982, c.74.)
(4) The increase in the original contractual amount as a result of an extension exceeds 30% thereof, but the following apply to the extensions:
(a) The increase is directly attributable to a route change to accommodate new student riders or safety concerns; and
(b) The school destination remains unchanged from the original contract.
Any such extension as described in this paragraph shall be approved by the county superintendent of schools and shall be bid for the next school year; or
(5) The increase in the original contractual amount as a result of an extension exceeds 30% thereof, regardless of the fact that the route description has changed or an aide has been added or removed, but the annual extension does not exceed the direct proportion of the annual rise or fall of the Consumer Price Index for all urban consumers in the New York City and the Philadelphia areas as reported by the United States Department of Labor. The Commissioner of Education shall disseminate to local boards of education the percentage of the annual rise or fall of the Consumer Price Index. If a board of education wishes to extend a contract with an increase, this percentage shall be applied to the contractual amount of the current school year to determine the maximum contractual amount for the next school year for contracts to which this paragraph applies.
Nothing in this chapter shall require the immediate bid of any contract renewal for the remainder of a school year in which the only change, in addition to route description, is the bus type. However, any such extension shall be approved by the county superintendent of schools and shall be bid for the next school year.
b. The Governor, in consultation with the Department of the Treasury, shall, no later than March 1 of each odd-numbered year, adjust the threshold amount set forth in subsection a. of this section, or subsequent to 1985 the threshold amount resulting from any adjustment under this subsection or section 17 of P.L.1985. c.469, in direct proportion to the rise or fall of the Consumer Price Index for all urban consumers in the New York City and the Philadelphia areas as reported by the United States Department of Labor. The Governor shall, no later than June 1 of each odd-numbered year, notify all local school districts of the adjustment. The adjustment shall become effective on July 1 of each odd-numbered year.
(P.L.1991, c.316, s. 1)
2. This act shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
This bill amends current law which authorizes boards of education to award annual extensions of transportation contracts without public bidding under certain circumstances. The bill provides that if an annual extension of a contract results in the total contract amount exceeding 130% of the original contract amount, then the extension may be awarded without public bidding provided that the extension does not exceed the proportion of the rise or fall of the Consumer Price Index. The Commissioner of Education would be required to disseminate to local boards of education information on the percentage of the annual rise or fall in the Consumer Price Index.
Permits school board to continue contract for pupil transportation under certain conditions.