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Board weighs selling Reading Safari bus, buying two replacements and trialing GPS trackers
Summary
Workshop discussion covered putting the 25‑year‑old Reading Safari bus up for bid, authorizing bids for two replacement buses for 2026–27, and considering an annual‑fee plug‑in GPS tracker pilot (cited cost $2,350) for driver‑education and CTE vehicles. Staff emphasized operational needs and safety; no recorded votes were taken.
Cannon County school staff urged the board to declare the district’s 25‑year‑old Reading Safari bus surplus and put it out for bid, and asked permission to seek bids for two replacement buses that would be needed for the 2026–27 school year.
Unidentified Speaker 4 described the Safari bus as "about 25 years old now" and said it has been unused recently while incurring insurance and maintenance costs. Staff reported early interest from churches and recommended disposing of the vehicle by bid, with proceeds applied toward newer equipment.
On replacing vehicles, Unidentified Speaker 4 said the district should order two buses now to have them by August: one to replace a retiring driver’s bus and one as a spare. "We really need a spare," the speaker said, citing recent scheduling pressures and a driver leaving early from an event.
The board also considered a proposed contract to install plug‑in GPS trackers on two driver‑education cars and two CTE Suburbans for monitoring speed, hard braking and other events. Unidentified Speaker 4 described it as an "annual" safety service and reported a quoted annual cost of $2,350 for the pilot. Staff recommended paying the first year’s fee and evaluating the system’s utility before committing long term.
Separately, staff asked the board’s permission to move safety purchases (bollard-style barriers) from quotes to formal bids after vendor proposals pushed projected costs above the $25,000 quote threshold; Unidentified Speaker 2 moved to bid those items.
No formal votes or final procurement approvals were recorded in the workshop transcript; staff said the items would return for action at the board’s next meeting with bid documents and cost details.
