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Kennewick School District delays major bus purchases pending low-emission rule clarity; votes not taken
Summary
District transportation director presented fleet size, mileage and a recommendation to wait on ordering new buses until Washington emission rules or manufacturer solutions are clearer; board discussed routing-software upgrades and parent app options but did not vote to purchase.
April Heiser, the district’s transportation director, told the Kennewick School District Board of Directors that the district transports roughly 10,678 students daily and logged nearly 1.3 million annual miles, and that the fleet presently includes 138 buses with nine additional vehicles on order for next year.
Heiser said the district has 15 air-conditioned buses now and will have 24 when current orders arrive; the district’s target is 25–30 air-conditioned buses to support summer-school routes. He also described the district’s current routing software as “antiquated,” saying dispatchers must redraw new housing and manually change speeds and idle times to keep stop times accurate. He urged the board to consider a routed-software replacement that includes live GPS, driver navigation tablets, and a parent app so families can see their child’s bus in real time.
The presentation put a potential recurring cost for routing software at roughly $120,000–$138,000 per year for the full fleet, with one vendor proposal near…
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