§ 3625 — Contracts

§ 3625. Contracts. 1. Form of transportation contracts. Every\ncontract for transportation of school children shall be in writing or in\nan electronic form approved by the commissioner when available, and\nbefore such contract is filed with the department as required by\nsubdivision two of this section, the same shall be submitted for\napproval to the superintendent of schools of said district and such\ncontract shall not be approved and filed by such superintendent unless\nhe or she shall first investigate the same with particular reference to\nthe type of conveyance, the character and ability of the driver, the\nroutes over which the conveyances shall travel, the time schedule, and\nsuch other matters as in the judgement of the superintendent are\nnecessary for the comfort and protection of the children while being\ntransported to and from school. Every such contract for transportation\nof children shall contain an agreement upon the part of the contractor\nthat the vehicle shall come to a full stop before crossing the track or\ntracks of any railroad and before crossing any state highway.\n 2. Filing of transportation contracts. Every transportation contract\nshall be filed with the department within one hundred twenty days of the\ncommencement of service under such contract. No transportation expense\nshall be allowed for a period greater than one hundred twenty days prior\nto the filing of any contract for the transportation of pupils with the\neducation department. No contract shall be considered filed unless it\nbears an original signature, in the case of a written document, or a\ncertification, in the case of an approved electronic form, of the\nsuperintendent of a school district or the designee of the\nsuperintendent and the sole trustee or president of the board of\neducation of the school district. The final approval of any such\ncontract by the commissioner shall not, however, obligate the state to\nallow transportation expense in an amount greater than the amount that\nwould be allowed under the provisions of this part. The state, acting\nthrough the department of audit and control, may examine any and all\naccounts of the contractor in connection with a contract for the\ntransportation of pupils, and every such contract shall contain the\nfollowing provision: "The contractor hereby consents to an audit of any\nand all financial records relating to this contract by the department of\naudit and control."\n 3. Allowable expense for transportation contracts. The allowable\ntransportation expense for any school district contracting for the use\nof a bus or buses for the transportation of any or all the pupils\nattending school in such school district, other than a contract with a\npublic service facility for such transportation operated on routes under\nfranchise or operated by a municipality or public authority, shall be\ndetermined in the same manner as though such bus or buses were district\nowned, except that the amount computed for such bus or buses used in the\ncomputation of the transportation expense may not exceed the amount of\nthe contract or contracts for such bus or buses.\n 4. No transportation aid or other public moneys shall be apportioned\nand paid as provided in this chapter to any district furnishing\ntransportation for pupils until the contract for transportation shall\nalso have been approved by the commissioner. In defraying any expense\nincurred in providing transportation of any pupils or children under any\nprovision of this chapter, public moneys apportioned to the district in\nwhich such pupils or children reside may be used therefor.\n 5. Transportation contract penalties. a. All acts done and proceedings\nheretofore had and taken, or caused to be had and taken, by school\ndistricts and by all its officers or agents relating to or in connection\nwith a transportation contract, to be filed with the department, where\nsuch contract was not timely executed and/or filed within one hundred\ntwenty days of the commencement of service under such contract pursuant\nto subdivision two of this section and/or where the advertisement for\nbids for such contract did not meet the requirements set forth in\nparagraph a of subdivision fourteen of section three hundred five of\nthis chapter, and all acts incidental hereto are hereby legalized,\nvalidated, ratified and confirmed, notwithstanding any failure to comply\nwith such filing and/or advertising provision or provisions, provided\nthat the conditions in subparagraphs one, two, three, and four of\nparagraph b of this subdivision are met.\n b. The department is hereby directed to consider the aforementioned\ncontracts for transportation aid as valid and proper obligations and\nshall not recover from such school districts any penalty arising from\nthe failure to execute and/or file a transportation contract in a timely\nmanner and/or meet such advertisement requirements, provided that any\namounts already so recovered shall be deemed a payment of moneys due for\nprior years pursuant to paragraph c of subdivision five of section\nthirty-six hundred four of this article and shall be paid to the school\ndistrict pursuant to such provision, provided that:\n (1) such school district submitted the contract to the commissioner\nand such contract is for services in the two thousand twelve--two\nthousand thirteen school year or thereafter;\n (2) such contract is approved by the commissioner;\n (3) all state funds expended by the school district were properly\nexpended for such transportation as approved by the commissioner; and\n (4) the failure to execute or file such contract in a timely manner\nand/or meet such advertisement requirements was an inadvertent\nadministrative or ministerial oversight by the school district or due to\nextenuating circumstances, and there is no evidence of any fraudulent or\nother improper intent by such district, as determined by the\ncommissioner.\n