Superintendent drops $50,000 minibus request after community-education arrangement

Superintendent Dr. Peter Botello told the Sharon School Committee that the district will no longer seek $50,000 in capital funds for a minibus because Community Education agreed to let the schools rent one of its minibuses on a regular basis.

Botello said the schools previously relied on Community Education vehicles but were told earlier in the year that they could no longer rent them; the district then proposed a $50,000 capital purchase. After recent discussions, Community Education indicated it can make one minibus available, eliminating the immediate need to purchase another vehicle.

“That will meet our needs, and we no longer need to put forth the $50,000 for the additional minibus,” Botello said.

Committee members welcomed the change. Avi (School Committee member) called the update “a good answer” and said saving capital dollars is important given operating-budget pressure. He asked when the change in Community Education’s stance was learned and Botello said he learned of the shift only recently; he said the department had earlier communicated that its vans were not available.

The committee then voted unanimously, 7-0, to remove the minibus capital outlay request from the capital plan at the superintendent’s recommendation.