New Mexico Administrative Code › Title 6 - PRIMARY AND SECONDARY EDUCATION › Chapter 43 - TRANSPORTATION - OPERATIONS AND FUNDING › Part 2 - REQUIREMENTS FOR SCHOOL BUS CONTRACTS AND PER CAPITA FEEDER AGREEMENTS › Section 6.43.2.8 - SCHOOL BUS SERVICE CONTRACTS

Current through Register Vol. 35, No. 13, July 16, 2024
A.
				A local board may provide transportation services to students through the use
				of school bus service contracts.
B.
				Local boards may enter into school bus service contracts with individual school
				bus owner-operators or with fleet owners or with both. A local board may not
				enter into any school bus fleet service contract with any person who is
				simultaneously employed by that local board as an individual one-bus
				owner/operator.
C. All individual
				owner operator equipment contracts and fleet service contracts shall be in
				writing on forms approved by the public education department.
D. For fleet contractors, the amount of the
				contract shall include recognition of fuel costs, operation and maintenance
				costs, and salary and benefits costs. For individual owner operator equipment
				contracts, the amount of the contract shall include recognition of fuel and
				operations and maintenance costs.
E. Local boards may request assistance from
				the public education department regarding contracts; however, the public
				education department shall not be a party to the contract and shall not
				participate in the negotiations.
F.
				The local board shall give preference to in-state providers and the use of
				multiple providers when awarding contracts.
G. The local board may agree to a five-year
				contract period. Any changes in the terms of the contract require that the
				contract be renegotiated/amended. At the end of the contract period the
				contract may be renewed annually on the same terms and conditions at the option
				of the local board.
H. The local
				board may terminate a school bus service contract in accordance with the
				provisions of state law and the school bus contract.
I. The contractor, may with the approval of
				the local school board, terminate a contract in accordance with state law and
				the school bus contract.
J. The
				contractor shall comply with the terms and conditions set forth in the public
				education department contract form. The contractor shall be subject to all
				federal and state laws and regulations, which govern school
				transportation.
K. The local board
				shall comply with the procedures established by the secretary of public
				education for the purchase and replacement of school buses.
L. The local board shall comply with all
				state laws and regulations governing school transportation. The local board
				shall negotiate contracts for the required services at a fair and reasonable
				price.
M. The school district shall
				ensure that a lien is filed in its name on every contractor-owned school bus
				under the contract. The school district shall also ensure that a lien is
				perfected in its name on each contractor-owned school bus with the motor
				vehicle division of the taxation and revenue department. The lien shall be
				recorded on the title of the school bus. The school district shall provide
				documentation to the state transportation director that the school district has
				filed a lien on each school bus authorized under contract with the school
				district. A school bus contractor shall not refinance or use a school bus on
				which a school district has a lien as collateral for any other loan without
				prior written permission of the public education department. The school
				district shall release its lien on a school bus when:
(1) the public education department
				authorizes a replacement of the school bus; or
(2) the contractor has reimbursed the school
				district the amount calculated by the public education department; if the
				school district fails to take action to collect money owed to it when a school
				bus contract is terminated or not renewed, the public education department may
				deduct the amount from the school district's transportation
				distribution.