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WRIGHT TWP. — The wait is over for Rinehimer Bus Lines Co. employees.

As of Wednesday afternoon, Rinehimer and Crestwood School District have entered into a tentative agreement allowing the bus line to drive for the district for the start of school on Aug. 29.

According to a joint press release by Crestwood and Rinehimer, the tentative agreement will last for the next five years.

A meeting was held Wednesday afternoon during which Crestwood was represented by school board members Bill Jones and Randy Swank, Superintendent Joe Gorham and district Solicitor Jack Dean. Rinehimer was represented by Rinehimer owner Scott Henry; his son, John Henry; and the company’s attorney.

“The agreement was reached after a negotiation session in which both parties engagement in lengthy professional give-and-take conversations involving concessions by both parties,” the release said.

The proposed contract “insures that Crestwood students will be transported safely” and includes upgraded buses and provides Rinehimer employees job security.

“The final contract is fair to Crestwood and its tax payers and to Rinehimer,” the release states.

A school board vote at 7:30 a.m. Thursday in the media room of Crestwood High School will confirm the contract, pending solicitor approval.

Timeline of Events

Rinehimer Bus Lines notified the board in early February that at the end of the 2015-2016 school year, they were ending the contract already in place. Scott Henry, who bought Rinehimer three years ago in bankruptcy court, was requesting increased reimbursement to continue the contract.

In March, a request for proposals was put out by the school board. They received three, including an upgraded Rinehimer contract.

During the May meeting of the school board, a 40-year affiliation with the Rinehimer Bus Co. came to an end when the board decided, on a 5-0 vote with directors Eric Aideldinger and Maureen McGovern abstaining, to award the transportation contract to Kevin Foley’s Mountain Top Bus Co. According to Times Leader records, Rinehimer drivers were at the meeting and protested the decision, saying the new contractor had no experience.

The board said the district would see a savings $400,000 under the contract with Mountain Top Bus Co.

In the months since the proposal, Rinehimer drivers and parents of students have taken to social media and other forms of communication to express discontent with the new busing company. Henry said his drivers would have jobs regardless of getting the Crestwood contract back — even if it meant subcontracting to Martz Bus Lines Co., of which he is president.

Emails to the Times Leader between the late Ken Malkemes, a school board member, and Brian Waite, the former acting superintendent of Crestwood, show that two bids were submitted by the 10 a.m. March 31 deadline and one over a half hour late. Kevin Foley’s Mountain Top Bus Co. submitted a bid at 10:38 a.m. on March 31. Karbata Transportation submitted a bid at 9:44 a.m. and Rinehimer Bus Transportation submitted at 9:58 a.m.

Gorham
https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/web1_new_super3_faa-3.jpg.optimal.jpgGorham

Scott Henry
https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/web1_henry2_faa-4.jpg.optimal.jpgScott Henry

By Melanie Mizenko

[email protected]

Reach Melanie Mizenko at 570-991-6116 or on Twitter @TL_MMizenko