Records show Minneapolis schools were overbilled by millions on a transportation contract.
Frontier Transportation Services, LLC is operated by two men named Falmata Bedasso and Abdurahman Kadir, according to secretary of state records. The company, which transports “Homeless and Highly Mobile” (HHM) students, was authorized to receive, at most, $3.6 million from Minneapolis Public Schools (MPS) for services through 2027, contract and school board records show. But by early 2025, the district had already been billed well above that amount, according to the most recent contracts and invoices.
In total, all of the invoices provided by the district in response to the request add up to more than $7 million.
The timing is hard to ignore: a new state law took effect in 2023 guaranteeing school districts 100% reimbursement for transportation costs tied to HHM students, according to Minneapolis Schools Voices.
Unlike traditional school buses, Frontier relies on Type III minivans to transport students, which are limited to a maximum of 10 passengers, including the driver.
MPS admitted through a public data request that it does not have any copies of vehicle inventories provided by Frontier Transportation Services despite the contract requiring “a vehicle inventory of all vehicles planned to be used to provide service.”
Moar here: https://alphanews.org/exclusive-records-suggest-district-was-invoiced-millions-over-contract-cap-minneapolis-schools-wont-explain/