Board reviews five-year capital plan; transportation requests larger recurring bus funding

Marion County Public Schools staff presented a draft five-year capital plan during the Sept. 4 administrative work session and briefed the board on transportation fleet needs and major maintenance priorities.

Ms. Usher introduced the capital plan, summarizing statutory reporting requirements and the district’s revenue projections. She said the projected revenue for 2025–26 is about $114 million, and noted new and returning revenue sources including impact fees, a reinstated local sales surtax and local capital improvement millage. “Under the millage, the local capital improvement millage … we received about $6,000,000 more in millage than last year,” Ms. Usher said.

Transportation supervisor Mr. Stanek told the board the district currently operates 249 routes and keeps 12 spare buses. He said the fleet accumulates roughly 33,000 miles daily across all…