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Kennedale ISD board declines to fund SB 546 seat-belt retrofits or bus replacements after cost presentation
Summary
After a presentation from Gold Star Transportation estimating retrofit and replacement costs to meet Senate Bill 546, the Kennedale ISD board voted unanimously to not budget for purchasing new buses or retrofitting existing ones to install three-point seat belts, citing cost and budget constraints.
Gold Star Transportation representatives told the Kennedale ISD Board that state law (Senate Bill 546) requires three-point seat belts on buses purchased after Sept. 1, 2017, and outlined two compliance paths: retrofit newer buses or replace older ones.
Dennis Gallagher, Gold Star’s representative, gave cost estimates to the board: retrofitting an eligible bus could cost "approximately $31,000 per bus," while replacing a 77-passenger conventional bus was estimated at about $155,000 per bus. Gallagher’s estimate put full replacement of the district’s aging fleet in the neighborhood of $4.445 million; retrofitting the 21 buses newer than model-year 2010 would cost roughly $650,000, by his figures.
Trustees discussed the financial and operational implications, including spare-bus factors, driver shortages, and the district’s limited route miles as a small (15-square-mile) system. Board members noted that some older vehicles exceed typical replacement schedules and that future replacements would be required as buses age, but that current local budget constraints make either retrofitting or full replacement infeasible now.
Following discussion, a trustee moved that the district budget "does not allow for the purchase of new buses nor the retrofitting of existing buses to fulfill the Senate Bill 546 three-point seat belt requirement." The motion was seconded and passed unanimously.
The board recorded no immediate plan to fund the changes. Trustees and staff said the district will continue to monitor fleet condition, driver availability and bonding options and will revisit the issue as part of future capital planning and community conversations.
What the board decided: The district will not allocate funds at this time for SB 546 compliance through retrofitting or purchasing replacement buses; the decision passed by unanimous vote.
Financial detail (estimates supplied to the board): retrofit ~ $31,000 per bus; replacement ~ $155,000 for a 77-passenger bus; total replacement estimate presented ~ $4.445 million. These were estimates shared by the presenter and not a formal bid.
