North Allegheny SD to buy seven buses, including second wheelchair bus; cost roughly $948,000

At its Oct. 15 meeting the North Allegheny School Board's property and supplies report outlined three procurement items set for action at the next meeting: natural gas purchasing agreements, electricity purchasing agreements and school bus purchases.

Board member McClure said the district plans to purchase seven buses; seven of those buses would be paid from the capital reserve fund at an estimated cost of about $948,000, slightly under the $1 million budgeted in that fund. A second wheelchair-accessible bus will be purchased through the transportation operating budget so the district can claim it on access-related expenditures. District staff said the additional wheelchair bus is intended to provide redundancy in case the existing wheelchair vehicle is unavailable and to support simultaneous in-district routes, athletic trips or field trips.

Mr. McClure said the district attempted to secure a temporary rental bus in case of breakdowns but could not find one, adding urgency to the second wheelchair-bus purchase. He described the timing as market-driven: utility contract proposals contained blanks because the exact contract pricing will be known only closer to the renewal vote next week, and bus orders are time-sensitive to lock pricing.

Board discussion included a question from Dr. Gibbs about whether the district had considered alternative fuel buses (natural gas, propane or electric). A staff member responding on infrastructure and maintenance said the district continues with diesel buses because of perceived reliability and consistent pricing, and because switching to propane, natural gas or electric would require significant infrastructure upgrades, storage, fueling/training and maintenance changes. The staff responder said electric-bus range and charging times are not yet sufficient to meet the district's operational needs.

Financial details and rationale

- Buses to be ordered: seven (exact vehicle mix and timing not finalized in the meeting). - Capital-reserve funding: about $948,000 of the purchase will come from the capital reserve; the capital reserve had budgeted approximately $1 million for bus purchases. - Wheelchair bus funding: to be purchased through the transportation operating budget to allow access-related claim recovery; staff estimated a return on investment of roughly a year and a half for that vehicle. - Contracts for natural gas and electricity: presentations included draft agreements with pricing blanks due to market timing; board expected final numbers before next meeting.

Next steps

The report indicated final contract pricing and formal board action on the bus purchases would occur at the next meeting. Board members asked staff follow-up questions about alternative fuel options and about securing temporary rental options for wheelchair-capable vehicles; staff said the district could not secure suitable rentals and that infrastructure constraints limit near-term fuel-type changes.