Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the School Transportation topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Robeson County to convert five older buses to activity use; four DEQ-funded replacements scheduled
Summary
School transportation staff told the Robeson County Board of Education that four new DEQ-funded activity buses will be delivered soon and that five older yellow buses will be reconfigured as activity buses for middle- and high-school programs. Staff described inspection, maintenance and funding limits for activity buses.
Chairman Leach and the Robeson County Board of Education heard an update on school transportation Thursday that outlined planned vehicle swaps and near-term deliveries tied to a Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) grant.
The board was told that the district expects to finalize and distribute four DEQ-funded replacement activity buses within a week, and plans to convert five parked yellow buses into activity buses for use by middle and high schools. The conversions involve changing systems and the bus governor so vehicles can be used for extracurricular travel rather than regular routes.
District presenter Robert Guzman said the district is also reallocating three of the remaining buses in the 7476 warehouse so high schools will have access to newer buses. “That bus driver has a very impactful job when it comes to our students that is often missed and goes unnoticed,” Guzman said, urging board members to recognize bus drivers during the month and week designated for driver appreciation. He noted the age of some activity buses in use and the local costs of maintaining them.
Guzman described costs and maintenance requirements: activity buses bought in 2023 cost about $132,462 and current costs cited were approximately $161,441 per activity bus. He said activity-bus repairs and some staffing costs must be covered with local funds and cannot be paid from certain transportation grant accounts (fund 56). Activity buses, like yellow school buses, receive 30-day inspections under North Carolina General Statute and are inspected in-house by county mechanics when certified; the district is training three new staff for inspection responsibilities.
Board members asked which specific schools would receive the refurbished buses; Guzman identified Hilly Branch (for CTE), Pembroke Middle, St. Paul’s Middle, Odom (Orem) and Lumberton Junior as recipients. He said the district’s fleet presently includes roughly 238 route buses, 10 parked buses and 13 bus credits available from the state if expansion is necessary. Guzman also explained that 15 buses acquired with federal COVID-era grant funds must remain in a system-wide pool and are not assignable to a single school.
Board members raised operational questions about maintenance logs, inspections and whether contracted carriers can substitute for in-house buses when vehicles are down. Guzman said activity buses are inspected every 30 days and that contracts for supplemental transportation are used mainly for special circumstances (McKinney-Vento, EC needs), not as routine yellow-bus replacements. He also said the district is short several mechanics, which can delay repairs.
The update concluded with board members asking staff to continue tracking costs, allocation and the roll-out schedule for the DEQ buses. Guzman said the district expects the new DEQ buses to be rolled out by the end of the month and that the five converted activity buses will follow at the same timeframe.
