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Eagle Point SD 9 bought nine buses as emissions deadline looms; district seeks retrofit grants
Summary
The district purchased nine buses (four new, five used) for $965,000 and is pursuing retrofit grants to meet shifted state emissions rules; staff said retrofits cost about $17,000 per bus and could extend vehicle life 5–6 years if funded.
Unidentified Speaker told the board the district purchased nine buses over the last two years — four new and five used — at a combined cost of $965,000. "We purchased 9 buses ... we spent $965,000 for the 4 new and 5 used buses," the speaker said, adding that re-seating one bus (Bus 15) increased its passenger capacity so it could be placed on regular home-to-school routes and qualify for state reimbursement.
The board discussed state emissions rules that had been scheduled to take effect Jan. 1, 2025. Rex (no last name given), who updated the board on emissions and grants, said the legislature pushed the deadline to Jan. 26, 2026 and that the Department of Education and the Department of Environmental Quality are still developing implementation guidance and a possible school-bus exemption. "One of the provisions that was added ... was pushing off the emissions deadline by 1 year," Rex said.
Rex said the district submitted three buses for retrofit grant funding but was not selected in the first round and hopes to be included in the second. He described the retrofit cost as about $17,000 per bus and said a successful grant would allow the district to keep those buses an additional five to six years rather than purchasing replacements immediately. "The retrofit cost itself is about $17,000 per bus," Rex said.
Unidentified Speaker also described ongoing procurement and fleet-management decisions: buying several used buses to stagger the fleet's ages and avoid simultaneous end-of-life for multiple vehicles, and expecting roughly $122,000 in state reimbursement over 10 years after reassigning reseated buses to regular routes. The board asked whether coaches and activities staff had been notified about bus seating and assignments; staff said no formal notice had been issued yet but that the district would accommodate requests and could communicate assignments to teams.
The district also reported it has taken delivery of all nine buses ordered, with the last new vehicles arriving after extended lead times. The board heard the district will pursue the second round of retrofit grants and that, if grant funding is not secured, the district may pay retrofit costs out of district funds.
The next procedural step is to monitor the second grant round and DEQ/ODE rulemaking; no formal vote or approval was recorded on fleet purchases during this meeting.
