NOTICE TO BIDDERS REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS FOR SCHOOL VAN SERVICE FOR PUPIL TRANSPORTATION FOR THE 2026-2027 SCHOOL YEAR Sachem Central School District 51 School Street Lake Ronkonkoma, New York 11779The Board of Education of the Sachem Central School District hereby invites sealed proposals for providing school van service for pupil transportation for the 2026-2027 school year for each of the following contracts: (1) Home-to-School Transportation for In/Out of District Transportation (including Public/Private/Parochial/Special/One Way Residential); and (2) Field Trips). Proposals will be received at the Sachem Central School District Administrative Offices, Purchasing Department, 51 School Street, Lake Ronkonkoma, New York, 11779 until 10:00 am prevailing time on September 24, 2026. In the best interest of the School District, the Board of Education reserves the right to award a transportation contract commencing upon approval by the Board of Education through June 30, 2027. Future one-year or multiple-year contract extensions may be awarded at the discretion of the Board of Education. The award of multi-year contracts is subject to and shall be conditioned upon the approval of the Sachem CSD voters. Proposers may request copies of the Specifications by emailing a request to Alyssa Hull, School Purchasing Agent, at ahull@sachem.edu. In all cases, it must be understood that the conditions set forth in the request for proposals issued by the Sachem Central School District shall apply. The District will receive sealed proposals on, or prior to the date and time specified. Proposals received after stated date and time will be returned to the sender, unopened. In the event the Sachem Purchasing Office is closed on the specified date due to unforeseen events, proposals will be opened the next day that the Sachem Purchasing Office is open. Proposers are strongly advised to ship proposal responses via US Mail, Fed-Ex, UPS and/or any authorized carrier that is able to officially track proposer's response packet. It is further advised that arrangements be made for proposals to be delivered prior to the proposal opening date to avoid any issues with delivery delays on the date of opening. Anyone wishing to drop off their proposal may do so in the Purchasing mailbox located in the front vestibule of the Sachem Administrative Offices, 51 School Street, Lake Ronkonkoma, NY 11779. Proposals must be submitted in a sealed envelope plainly marked on the outside: RFP # R 26-5541SVS School Van Service for Pupil Transportation. Proposals will be opened on the stated date but will not be read aloud. There will be no discussion at the time of the opening of the proposals. The names of the proposing firms shall be available following the proposal opening. Please read the attached material carefully before submitting your proposal. Incomplete proposals may not be considered. The Board of Education reserves the right to reject all proposals, waive any informalities or technicalities in proposals where the best interests of the respective school district may be served. Questions regarding this Request for Proposals will be accepted by the District Purchasing Agent until September 17, 2026 at 12:00 noon and answers to all questions will be distributed in the form of an addendum to all potential Proposers by email. Please submit your questions in writing via email to ahull@sachem.edu. The Board of Education reserves the right to consider experience, service and reputation in the student transportation field, as well as the financial responsibility and specific qualifications set out herein of the prospective proposer, in considering proposals and awarding the contracts. The Board of Education reserves the right to reject any or all proposals in whole or in part, when in the sole discretion it deems that it will serve the best interests of the School District. The Board of Education reserves the right to waive technical defects, irregularities and omissions; and to select in its sole discretion which of two or more identical proposers shall be awarded the contract. The Board of Education shall evaluate each proposal received according to criteria established by the Commissions, which criteria shall include at a minimum (i) the previous experience of the contractor in transporting pupils, (ii) the name of each transportation company the contractor has been an owner or a manager and previous experience, (iii) a description of any safety programs implemented by the contractor, (iv) a record of accidents in motor vehicles under the control of the contractor, (v) driving history of employees of the contractor, (vi) inspection records and model year of the motor vehicles under the control of the contractor, (vii) maintenance schedule of the motor vehicles under the control of the contractor, (viii) financial analysis of the contractor, (ix) compliance with insurance requirements, and (x) total cost of the proposal. Proposals will be evaluated and awarded based on the following criteria established by the School District pursuant to Section 305 and 3625 of the Education Law and Section 156.12 of the Regulations of the Commissioner of Education, together with all other applicable laws, rules, regulations and ordinances. Category Weight 1 Previous experience of contractor in school transportation 15 2 Names of previous transportation companies where the contractor has been an owner or manager 10 3 Description of safety programs implemented by the contractor 10 4 Record of accidents in vehicles under the control of the contractor 5 5 Driving history of employees of the contractor 5 6 Fleet inspection records, model year of each of the vehicles under the control of the contractor 10 7 Maintenance schedules of vehicles under control of the contractor 10 8 Financial analysis of the contractor 5 9 Documentation of compliance with motor vehicle insurance requirements 5 10 Total cost of proposal - total cost to provide the transportation services under the contract 25 TOTAL 100 The above-referenced scoring of the criteria will be used for each of the contracts for the term of the contract awarded under this Request for Proposals for transportation services. In the best interest of the School District, the Board of Education reserves the right to award the transportation contracts for the 2026-2027 school year with the option to extend for a period of one (1) year, three (3) years or five (5) years in accordance with applicable law and subject to and conditioned upon the approval of the voters of the School District. In the event the voters do not approve a multi-year agreement, the School District will entertain the award of a one (1) year contract. The Commissioner of Education, in addition to his/her existing statutory authority to approve or disapprove transportation contracts, may reject any award of a transportation contract that is based on an evaluation of proposals submitted in response to a request for proposals if he/she finds that (1) the contractor is not responsive to the request for proposal, or (2) the proposal is not in the best interests of the District. The School District requires a minimum score of eighty (80) for award. Security in the form of a bond or certified check in the amount of ten (10) percent of the first year of each contract is required to be submitted with a proposal. A performance and payment bond in the sum of one hundred (100%) percent of the annual amount of the contracts will be required as set forth in the request for proposal. Board of Education Sachem Central School District 51 School Street Lake Ronkonkoma, New York 11779 Alyssa Hull, School Purchasing Agent4193988 LIBN 09/11/2026