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Sarasota board approves $3.5 million purchase of 20 school buses to replace aging fleet

Sarasota County School Board · December 17, 2025
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Summary

The board unanimously approved a $3.5 million contract with Matthews Buses to buy 14 standard buses and six Lyft buses for students with disabilities to replace aging vehicles; superintendent said some older buses will be removed from rotation.

The Sarasota County School Board unanimously approved a $3,500,000 agreement to purchase new school buses on Dec. 16.

Superintendent Connor said the purchase covers 14 standard buses and six specialized Lyft vehicles for students with disabilities and will replace an approximately equal number of older vehicles taken out of service. The board moved and seconded the motion to approve the contract with Matthews Buses and voted to authorize the expenditure.

Board members did not debate procurement details at length during the public meeting; no public commenter opposed the purchase during the consent/discussion period. The superintendent said the purchase was brought to discussion because of the dollar amount and the need to maintain safe and reliable transportation.

Next steps: procurement staff to manage delivery timelines and retire replaced vehicles from the fleet.