Board approves bus purchases and declares 26 buses surplus; purchases tied to transportation and elementary music program restoration

The Houston County Board of Education approved purchasing actions to replace or add school buses and declared 26 district buses as surplus property to be sold online.

During the meeting the board approved a motion for bus purchases that included a stated financial impact of $2,007,600. The board later approved a motion to declare 26 buses surplus and directed that those buses be sold through gov.deals.com. Both actions passed on voice votes recorded in the meeting with no opposed votes.

During the purchasing discussion a board member noted that the purchasing report also supports returning music instruction to elementary schools; that item was discussed as part of routine purchasing approvals and received board approval.

Why it matters: School bus fleet replacement and surplus disposition affect daily transportation operations for students and have direct budget implications. The surplus process was directed to an online auction platform (gov.deals.com), and the purchases are intended to bring the district’s transportation equipment up to standards.

Next steps: District procurement and transportation staff will execute bus purchases and post surplus vehicles for sale. The board recorded the financial impact for the bus purchases in the meeting but did not provide additional procurement contract details in the public transcript; staff will handle procurement execution and report back as needed.