New bus company for Barrington, chosen even though it would not accept some safety terms

What happened

After a bidding process that ran for six months, the School Committee awarded the school transport contract to First Student, replacing Ocean State Transit. The district's lawyer told the April 16 meeting that First Student had struck out several of the safety provisions the district asked for and was more expensive, while Ocean State had accepted them but had been uncooperative during the investigation of the mini-bus incident. The committee voted for First Student anyway and separately asked for a consultant to study running the buses itself.

Why it matters to families

The bus company decides who drives your child to school and what safety rules those drivers work under. Barrington chose between two vendors it had public concerns about.

The evidence

The April 16, 2026 approved minutes record Attorney Lombardo explaining that First Student redlined several specific safety provisions in the district's request and declined to agree to many of them, that neither company had shown good faith, and that Ocean State's lack of cooperation during the investigation of the mini-bus incident weighed heavily; the motion to approve the First Student contract passed 4-0. The February 26, 2026 minutes record the award of the transportation RFP to First Student. The May 7, 2026 minutes record a 4-0 vote to issue an RFP for a transport consultant to evaluate the district running buses itself. The contract price is not recorded in the minutes.

The source