write specs for two to three buses per year, and our ven- dors compete pretty heavily for those bids. Our specs are also fairly unique and may not fit into a co-op purchase plan. We spec with three-point lap and shoulder seat belts, air conditioning and underneath storage for all of our route buses.” Hanley said the intent of Kentucky’s effort is to have the most up-to-date requirements and address concerns of the school district. “The committee is actually made up of superintendents, directors, technicians, as well as driver trainers from the school district,” she explained. “We’re hearing from those that are directly on the ground.” But Hanley said that it’s hard to get a decision on the
exact specifications on which they should align. “Some people say, ‘We don’t want electric buses,’” she noted. “Some people say, ‘We do.’ Some people say, ‘We want a GPS tracking system.’” Ultimately, after delib-
nia. “After a school district has gone through the process required by law in California to publicize a request for a quote, and it has gone through the school board process, those quotes can be used by other school districts,” he said. “The one that we use is the one that comes from the Wa- terford School District. The bus manufacturers provide it to us. I am sure there are other products, vehicles and fuel that districts collaborate on to get a better price as well.”
Buying Cooperatives At the school district level, efforts to pool purchases
erations and discussions, the committee decides collectively, yielding to the concerns of many different voices from different parts of the state, with different concerns. “We send out an email and let everyone know when the specification [timing] is,” Hanley said. “We ask them to please send us their suggestions on whatever technology or any issues that they have that we can address at that meeting. Then we discuss those items at the meeting. Like we have our spec meeting at the end of the month, this month.” Whether it’s for a more fitting product, or better
There is power in numbers with the bigger purchases. Parts and other smaller items we still source locally
for a reasonable cost.” —Jason Sherman, Delaware City Schools in Ohio
to support bus fleets include capitalizing on buying cooperatives set up by the state. Many districts have in- dividual purchasing agents, while others use the states. Many states commission buying cooperatives that pool purchases with other en- tities, to offer attractive pricing. The cooperatives do the work of a purchasing department, except they offer better pricing. Like the one in Spring, Texas, they charge a percentage of the purchase for managing the purchase and running the cooperative. Danny Golnik is the vice
president of Direct Global/Direct Co-ops, a buying cooperative based in Toronto. Golnik said group purchasing enables significant savings on any pur-
chasing need, be it equipment, supplies, gas or auto parts. Plus, there are savings in other areas where such smaller, individual organizations are unable to access on their own. “By organizing individual organizations into one
pricing and terms, there is indeed, power in collective purchasing effort. “We have purchased buses through a consortium for many years,” said Jason Sherman, director of facilities and transportation for Delaware City Schools in Ohio. “There is power in numbers with the bigger purchases. Parts and other smaller items we still source locally for a reasonable cost.” The efforts of Delaware City Schools parallel those
in Kentucky and are common in other districts across the country. Nationwide, the larger purchases are ideal targets for purchasing by committee—at least to nar- row-down purchase specifications. “There is a thing called piggybacking that we use to buy school buses,” said Mike Young, director of transportation for Gateway Unified School District in Redding, Califor-
52 School Transportation News • APRIL 2019
group that can negotiate on behalf of its members and leverage its size, an average of 50 percent savings is pos- sible across many verticals, with additional concessions from large, national providers,” he explained. Group purchasing affords the convenience of in-
dustrial purchasing in addition to pricing. Golnik said a one-stop shopping experience via a co-op enables organizations to express their specific purchasing needs to the entire group. The group can then negotiate with the specific suppliers on behalf of not just the individual organization, but the entire collective. It also allows them to consolidate all purchases into one. “So, aside from the savings (resulting from the renego-
tiated pricing and the lowered costs of shipping), they get the convenience of not having to shop around,” he said. Golnik added a caveat to the benefits of working with purchasing cooperatives by pointing out that there are
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