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Page County School Board asks supervisors to reallocate $225,000 from transportation to building repairs amid urgent bus and maintenance concerns
Summary
The Page County School Board voted to request that the Board of Supervisors move $225,000 from transportation to operations and maintenance to address aging facilities and equipment. Board members cited long bus lead times, high mileage on existing buses and the loss of a state safety-officer grant as reasons to reallocate funds.
The Page County School Board on April 24 voted to request that the Page County Board of Supervisors reallocate $225,000 from transportation to operations and maintenance to cover urgent building repairs and accessibility needs.
The resolution asks the Board of Supervisors to reallocate funds “with no increase or decrease of local appropriations involved in the amount of $225,000” and lists transportation-to-operations-and-maintenance as the transfer.
Why it matters: Board members said aging school facilities and long lead times for buses make some maintenance and equipment purchases urgent. Superintendent Dr. Fox told the board the county supervisors had verbally committed to some staff compensation funding but were holding other appropriations pending state budget action. He told members he planned to press for immediate funding for items such as buses because “you order a bus in December. It's not gonna come in in that fiscal year,” and long vendor lead times can exceed 12 months.
Members said the district still operates buses with very high mileage — one board member noted buses with “over 200,000 miles” and some dating to the late 1990s — and that replacing or obtaining necessary parts (tires, chairlifts) can be delayed. The board highlighted a recent estimate that replacing the chairlift at Page County Middle School would cost $48,000 and that deferring some repairs could trigger larger, more expensive compliance work such as installing an elevator.
The board also discussed a separate grant the division had applied for: a state-funded division safety officer position that would have paid roughly $100,000, with an expected local in-kind contribution of about $33,000. Dr. Fox said the county initially was part of the application process but later declined the award; board members described the declination, received within hours of the award notice, as “a tremendous blow” and said they were disappointed that the division was not given an opportunity to discuss or negotiate conditions with the supervisors before the grant was declined.
Board members debated whether the reallocation would undercut transportation operations. Finance and operations staff described how federal and state grants (including “all in” funding) had been used to cover some transportation costs and purchases, but that grants and purchasing lead times cannot reliably replace local funding for time-sensitive items.
The board approved the resolution by voice vote and directed staff to forward the request to the Board of Supervisors. The motion to approve the resolution was made and seconded during the April 24 meeting; members who answered during the roll call voiced approval.
Board members said they would continue to press supervisors for timely approvals when purchases (buses, critical maintenance) require commitments that cross fiscal years.
Ending: The reallocation request will be sent to the Page County Board of Supervisors for their action; the school board said staff will continue to identify urgent maintenance and transportation needs to support follow-up questions from supervisors.
