Two separate bidding processes to have private companies take over portions of the town's school busing have concluded.

The School Department is now analyzing four bids from those seeking to take over the entire busing operation. The town, having received just one bid to supply and maintain a portion of the bus fleet, is looking for more bidders.

The town used a "reverse auction" process under which potential bidders were identified through a screening process and then invited to bid via the Internet during a specific time period on Friday, Dec. 17.

Town Administrator Mark Andrews said two bidders were poised to bid on the town's request for 30 new or near-new 77-passenger school buses. But, on the day of the auction, one of the bidders unexpectedly indicated that it would not be participating,

While expressing disappointment that the auction could not take place because there was only one bidder, Andrews expressed confidence in the process.

"We're in the search for additional bidders that would want to participate, and let's see how it works out," he said. "Let's sharpen our pencils, and let's get a second or third bidder in there."

Andrews said he's been in contact with the state, which has given him suggestions for potential bidders.

The town and the School Department put out separate and different requests for busing proposals as the result of a months-long dispute over how best to address concerns about bus safety and costs. Both school and town officials have said they will need to work together once the results of the separate bid processes are in hand.

It was the first time the town has tried a reverse auction since a new state law, passed late last summer, gave municipalities the option to use the process. Andrews said it was a learning experience for all involved.

"It gives us a perspective. Now we can do this for salt, or sand, or do this for different types of equipment that we need" in an effort to cut down on costs, he said.

The School Department received four bids on a request that could allow the department to outsource the ownership and operation of the entire transportation operation to a private company.

Superintendent Dr. Barry Rabinovitch indicated that the department is doing a preliminary analysis of the bids received, but that in-depth work would likely not take place until after the district's Christmas vacation.

"The next step is to really look for a comparison to our own costs and to see if it's cheaper to have somebody else [run the Transportation Department] or cheaper to do it within," Rabinovitch said.

The current school transportation budget is more than $1.3 million. With the fiscal year 2012 budget process beginning in early January, analyses will need to be completed relatively soon.

Rabinovitch said that the department should know which method of busing is cheaper by the end of January.

Both the town and the School Department have the right to reject any and all bids received.