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McAllen ISD outlines costs and financing options to meet Texas seat‑belt mandate
Summary
Transportation officials told the McAllen ISD board that complying with Texas’ SB 546—requiring three‑point seat belts on buses by Sept. 1, 2029—will be expensive and multi‑year; staff presented retrofit and purchase costs plus several funding scenarios including maintenance tax notes and bond use.
McAllen, Texas — McAllen ISD transportation officials on Jan. 13 presented the board with a multi‑pronged plan to comply with Senate Bill 546, the state law that requires three‑point seat belts on buses transporting students.
Eduardo Barnhart, the district’s director of transportation, said the district operates 93 buses and transports roughly 5,000 students daily. “Our fleet consists of 93 yellow school buses,” Barnhart said. “Currently, about a third of our fleet has seat belts.” He told trustees the average bus life is about 11 years and the district logs roughly 1,000,000 miles a year on its buses.
Barnhart outlined…
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