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Transportation director outlines $3.7M bus-replacement plan, flags electrification infrastructure costs
Summary
New transportation director Amy Currell proposed replacing aging buses (15 Type C, six Type A) and purchasing grounds equipment under a plan not to exceed $3,697,100, while warning that state-mandated bus electrification may require costly electrical work and legislative aid.
Amy Currell, the district’s new director of transportation, presented the district’s bus-replacement recommendations and explained the criteria used to prioritize vehicle purchases: safety and reliability, age and mileage, maintenance cost versus replacement value, budget and borrowing considerations, and the state-mandated transition to electric buses.
Currell proposed purchasing 15 Type C (66-passenger) buses and six 30-passenger Type A buses, along with a Bobcat (Grama) mower and a truck with a plow and attachments. She told the board the total expenditure for these purchases would not exceed $3,697,100.
On electrification, Currell and Superintendent Dr. Wilson Turner cautioned that infrastructure needs remain uncertain. They said a commissioned electrical-capacity study by a vendor (referred to as Wendell) has produced varying cost estimates; in one scenario the project could require a substation on district property versus bringing power in from an external source — the substation option could add roughly $3,000,000 to infrastructure costs. Because of that uncertainty, the district is considering available waivers for school districts and continues to press the legislature for an aid formula that would fund both vehicles and charging infrastructure.
Board members asked operational questions about how the proposed purchases would affect tiered transportation schedules and shuttle arrangements for the Trio/satellite program; Currell explained shared-shuttle approaches and noted a "test drive a bus" event scheduled for April 1 and active driver recruitment (six new drivers recently). The presentation was informational; the bus-replacement plan was not voted on at this meeting.
Currell emphasized safety and budget prudence as the criteria for the replacements while acknowledging the district must still resolve infrastructure financing to comply with the state electrification mandate.
