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Board hears six-month financial report; district replacing 49 buses amid funding gap
Summary
Finance staff told the board the district purchased 49 replacement buses at $136,387 each, noted a $61,387 per-bus gap versus state fleet funding of $75,000, and said the district will use one-time state 'advancement technology' funds to cover the shortfall while warning about ongoing revenue pressure from e-commerce sales tax shifts.
Tuscaloosa City Schools finance staff presented the district’s six-month financial report on June 3 and detailed a large bus-replacement outlay and a continuing sales-tax funding challenge.
Mister Duke, presenting the management and revenue updates, said the district has purchased 49 school buses at a cost of $136,387 each and plans to replace another 24 buses next year. He explained the state fleet-renewal payment for a school bus remains $75,000, leaving a per-bus funding gap the district is covering with one-time "advancement technology" funds. Duke said the advancement technology monies are supplemental, one-time allocations and not guaranteed in future years.
Duke warned of a broader revenue pressure tied to online sales. "We do not get a penny from online sales," he told the board, calling the statewide shift in e-commerce purchasing a "huge" issue affecting millions of dollars across school systems. Board members and staff discussed resale of older buses via certified auction houses; Duke said the district recoups some nominal funds but that sale proceeds would not close the funding gap.
On staffing, board members and staff said driver recruitment remains a constraint. A board member noted, "We can have the buses, but if we don't have the drivers ... you have to have a CDL passenger license" and urged outreach to recruit bus drivers. The board asked staff to begin or continue recruitment steps for drivers and noted the new buses will be air-conditioned, which staff said could help recruitment.
The finance presentation included the routine FY2025 budget amendment item, which the board approved in the meeting as a calibration of revenues and expenditures after allocations from the state. Presenters described the amendment as the usual year-end adjustment that aligns the budget with allocations received after initial budgeting.
