Legal dispute leaves APS struggling to cover bus routes
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A legal dispute between sa国际传媒官网网页入口 Public Schools and a bus contractor
has left the state鈥檚 largest district
scrambling to provide transportation services for students, a spokesman said Thursday.
APS has filed a lawsuit demanding that Herrera School Buses and Coaches Inc. either return 62 school buses or pay the district about $1.6 million.
The removal of 62 school buses from the APS fleet has required the district to cover routes with its existing fleet of 281 district-owned buses, APS spokesman Martin Salazar said. School began on Aug. 7.
鈥淲e are stretched thin due to taking in the Herrera routes,鈥� Salazar said Thursday in a written response to the Journal鈥檚 questions. 鈥淲e are currently using all of our spare fleet until we receive the buses from Herrera.鈥�
Officials with Herrera did not immediately return phone messages Thursday seeking comment. Court records do not show that Herrera is currently represented by an attorney.
Salazar declined to discuss the substance of the dispute with Herrera, saying the district doesn鈥檛 comment on pending litigation.
鈥淭he lack of fleet from Herrera and the routes taken in-house have put a strain on our district,鈥� Salazar said.
Contract terminated
An attorney for APS sent a letter May 1 to Herrera saying the district did not intend to renew its contract with the sa国际传媒官网网页入口 company when it expired June 30.
Neither the letter nor the lawsuit explains why APS decided to terminate the contract, which spanned July 1, 2023, to June 30, 2024.
鈥淭his letter is to advise you that APS will not be exercising its statutory or contractual option to renew the agreement for an additional year,鈥� according to the 鈥渘otice of non-renewal鈥� attached to the lawsuit filed Aug. 9 in 2nd Judicial District Court.
The state of New Mexico finances bus purchases for companies that contract with school districts, said Luis Robles, the attorney who filed the lawsuit on behalf of APS.
鈥淚鈥檓 going to ask the court to order (Herrera) to give us the buses or the money back, whichever they choose,鈥� Robles said in a phone interview Thursday.
Robles said he doesn鈥檛 know why the district decided to terminate its contract with Herrera.
Under APS鈥檚 contract with Herrera, the company was required to provide bus transportation to and from school for APS students attending kindergarten through 12th grade, including developmentally disabled students.
Herrera also was required to furnish the school buses and to 鈥渆mploy a sufficient number of drivers and support personnel鈥� to operate and maintain the buses, according to the contract.
APS currently employs 249 school bus drivers who cover 26,500 miles a day, Salazar said.
鈥淲e have 15 standby drivers along with other staff members covering all open routes to ensure all students are transported to school every day,鈥� he said.
APS also has contracts with three other bus companies that drive about 6,500 miles a day, he said.
APS has had limited success recruiting Herrera drivers to work for the district.
鈥淲e welcomed any and all Herrera drivers to come work for APS, but the majority continue to work for Herrera鈥檚 contracted state charter school routes,鈥� he said.
APS has openings for 28 bus drivers. The jobs pay up to $32 an hour depending on experience plus benefits.
According to the lawsuit, New Mexico law requires a school district to file a lien on every contractor-owned school bus.
Robles said the state subsidizes a contractor鈥檚 purchase of school buses. The contractor works off the debt by providing transportation services for the district.
If the contract is terminated, the New Mexico Public Education Department calculates the value of the buses based on a 12-year replacement cycle. State law allows school districts to deduct the value of the buses from the amount owed under the contract.
APS estimates in the suit that the district 鈥渙verpaid鈥� Herrera $1,630,416, including the deduction for the value of the buses.
As an alternative, Herrera can return the buses along with an overpayment of $76,716, which it owed APS as of May 31, the suit contends.
