Hull School District Initiates Transportation Bid Process, Updates Bullying Prevention Plan

Officials Anticipate Cost Increase, Enhance Protections for Vulnerable Students

HULL, MA - November 4 - The Hull School District has launched its bidding process for a new multi-year student transportation contract, with officials bracing for a significant cost increase. The district is currently reviewing bids from multiple vendors, with a decision expected in early December.

Diane Saniuk, the District's Business Manager, reported that eight vendors have requested bid documents since they became available on Oct. 28. Bids are due by Dec. 4 at 10 a.m.

"Expect a significant increase," Saniuk told the school committee, referring to the anticipated cost of the new transportation contract.

The district is seeking a three-year contract with options for two additional one-year extensions. This structure aims to secure more favorable rates for the district over a longer term.

School Committee Chair David Twombly emphasized the importance of the bidding process, noting, "When I was in Easton, we went out to bid like two years ago, and I had to chase people to get, to actually send it out to them. Like nobody requested it."

Twombly added that in his previous experience, the district ultimately received only one bid from the current vendor, highlighting the potential challenges in securing competitive offers.

The district has scheduled a pre-bid conference for Nov. 20, providing an opportunity for potential vendors to ask questions and clarify requirements.

In other business, the school committee approved updates to the district's bullying prevention and intervention plan, adding language to address vulnerable student populations.

Kristen Ryan, the district's Student Services Director, presented the changes, which were made in response to recommendations from the Department of Education.

"They just asked that we named our more vulnerable populations in our bullying and prevention intervention plan," Ryan explained.

The updated plan now explicitly identifies groups that may be more susceptible to bullying based on characteristics such as race, color, religion, ancestry, national origin, sex, socioeconomic status, homelessness, gender identity or expression, pregnant or parenting status, sexual orientation, and mental, physical, developmental, or sensory disabilities.

Ryan also highlighted improvements to the district's reporting mechanisms for bullying incidents. "We have updated our reporting forms," she said. "If you go onto our website, there are two ways, multiple ways to report. You can obviously report verbally. We have a document that you can print and write on and submit, and there's also a Google form that people can complete there."

The committee also approved updates to the district's physical restraint policy, which now outlines specific de-escalation protocols used by staff.

"We use safety care as our de-escalation protocol, so all of our staff in our programs are trained," Ryan said. "I'm a trainer along with one of the other special education teachers, and our staff are trained every year."

In other developments, Superintendent Michael Jette announced the creation of a task force to review student memorial policies. The task force will include both school principals, two school committee members, and a representative from the Hull Boosters Club.

"We have a request that I evaluated against existing policy, and policy is sort of silent on the request," Jette explained. "And so I thought it might be helpful if I could have a task force get together to advise me on how to respond to the request and do we need to take a look at our policies and have some recommended changes."

The committee also heard updates on various school activities, including a successful dual dance at the Jacobs School and the high school woodworking students' participation in a regional contest.

The next school committee meeting is scheduled for three weeks from now.