Norwood School Committee Seeks Field Trip Funds and Awards Bus Transportation Contracts-July 29, 1976

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Contending that student field trips are vital to education, the Norwood School Committee decided during last night’s meeting to appeal to the Finance Commission (FinCom) and, if necessary, petition a special town meeting to restore funds cut from its 1976-77 budget. Vice Chairman Richard W. Kief recommended seeking a reserve fund transfer, arguing that field trips are an educational issue worth fighting to acquire funding. The motion was amended to allow the school committee to file a special town meeting petition for an unspecified sum—likely between $10,000 and $15,000, matching or exceeding the approximately $13,000 spent during the previous school year—if the FinCom refuses the request.

In cutting the original $306,000 request for regular student transportation down to $297,000, the town meeting effectively eliminated funds slated for student field trips after realizing a new bus transportation contract would consume nearly the entire $297,000 appropriation. Supt. Philip O. Coakley declared that it is inconceivable for a school department not to provide student field trips. Currently pending before the FinCom is a separate $7,100 school department request to cover the salary of a statistical machine operator, a position the committee claims was cut out of the budget due to a misunderstanding.

Addressing transportation logistics, the school committee awarded a five-year student bus transportation contract to Sansone Motors Inc., the Norwood firm which has served as the school bus contractor for more than thirty-five years. Committee member John H. Chisholm questioned department procedures, particularly regarding public advertisement when a contract involving close to $1.5 million over five years brings out only one bidder. Business Manager Lawrence S. Canter explained that Sansone Motors Inc. holds the competitive advantage of already garaging its buses locally, which is a contract requirement. Although three individuals picked up bidding specifications, only Sansone Motors Inc. followed through. Lawrence S. Canter noted that the estimated first-year cost of $295,000 leaves an approximate $2,000 difference from the $297,000 appropriation, which may be applied toward field trips. The school department will only be bound by a fixed per-bus price, with annual costs varying based on enrollment demand. Defending the terms, Dr. Philip O. Coakley stated that over an eight-year period—comprising the expired three-year contract and the new five-year proposal—there is less than a two percent average annual cost escalation.

In a related matter, the committee awarded a separate five-year student transportation contract under the special education program to Yellow Cab of Norwood (Bob’s Taxi Co.), the lowest of four bidders, with an estimated first-year cost of $71,000 against an $80,000 appropriation. Meanwhile, in unrelated municipal infrastructure updates, the Department of Public Works (DPW) removed the complex intersection at Nahatan and Clapboardtree Streets from its final proposal to the federal highway program following public opposition last fall, leaving six other signal and roadway improvement intersections slated for widening, straightening, and granite curbing.

Archival Note: This article has been dynamically reconstructed from the original public record print archives of the Patriot Ledger