Unit 5 schools is looking at buying $3.5 million worth of school buses, but that doesn’t mean the district is looking to expand its bus fleet.
Superintendent Mark Daniel explained the district plans to buy 49 new buses and also reduce the number of buses it’s renting.
“By purchasing we can run those buses, hopefully, we’re targeting eight years, but hopefully extending 10 to 12 years,” said Daniel. “That is a significant saving over renting.”
The district Board of Education approved the purchases during its meeting Wednesday night. The buses will be bought using bond sales, which the district is also in the process of approving. Daniel said Unit 5’s fleet of buses will actually be reduced overall.
“We currently have a fleet of 158 and we’re looking at moving that down to 140, give or take two or three buses.”
Daniel added the district is already expecting to be able to reduce the number of bus routes it is running next school year, which was an expected benefit of altering school start times that the Board of Education approved last month.
Board member Marty Hickman said he is looking into possibly getting vans for the district as well.
“The vans would have nine students and the driver, so that’s ten people total,” he said. “I think it is much more economical for the district to pick up students that live farthest away from the schools with these smaller vehicles.”
The board also talked about the Handbook for the 2016-17 school year. While elementary and middle schools had minor changes such as adding mental health awareness lessons and taking away snacks on student birthdays, the biggest changes came with the high school agenda. PARRC scores are already requested by community colleges, but the district sees four-year universities turning towards the requirement soon. Students that take the exam will have their grade added into their final transcripts.
