To:

Members, Board of Education

From:

Maurice O. Green, Superintendent
Leo Bobadilla, Chief Operations Officer

Date:

April 20, 2009

RE:

Transportation - Retread Tire Contract Update

The North Carolina Department of Administration, Division of Purchase and Contract has issued a new school bus tire retread contract.  The new retread contract presents notable changes based on North Carolina Session Law 2008-201, which mandated changes in the contract terms for retread tires. 

Notable changes in the current retread contract include:

• Charges for spot repairs are included in the cost of the tire and will not be billed separately.
• Inspections of tire casings include state-of-the-art methods such as shearography, ultrasound, electrostatic discharge, high pressure testing, or other industry standard testing methods.
• An established threshold for the number of times a casing can be retreaded set at two (2) times and a maximum casing age of six (6) years.
•  Requirement for a premium retread that will provide optimum tire mileage/service, and safety.  The anticipated average tread wear mileage for each of the retread type(s) offered is identified by each contractor’s name.
• Casings will be identified, marked, and continuously tracked through the retread process, ensuring the casings are returned to the original user.
• Information is required on sidewall is in accordance with Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) 49 CFR Part 574.

RECOMMENDATION:  Staff recommends that the district, with the help of legal counsel, explore developing a Request for Proposals (RFP) utilizing the State of North Carolina Tire Retreading Term Contract No. 060E for guidance. In the event that an RFP is not a viable option and/or less cost effective than the state contract, staff recommends that the district utilize the State of North Carolina Tire Retreading Term Contract No. 060E for the purchase of school bus tires.