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Magnolia ISD board adopts resolution saying current budget cannot meet state school-bus seat‑belt mandate
Summary
Magnolia ISD trustees voted to adopt a resolution finding the district’s budget cannot support full compliance with Senate Bill 546’s three‑point seat‑belt requirement for school buses by the Sept. 1, 2029 deadline; the district estimated roughly $13.4 million in retrofit and replacement costs.
The Magnolia ISD Board of Trustees voted to adopt a resolution declaring the district’s current budget does not permit full compliance with Senate Bill 546, which requires three‑point seat belts for all passengers on school buses.
The district transportation official told trustees Magnolia ISD operates 112 regular‑education buses and 39 special‑education buses (151 total). He said zero regular buses currently have three‑point belts and 12 special‑education buses do. “The estimated cost to retrofit all buses is approximately $13.4 million,” he said, adding that retrofitting a single bus would cost about $35,000 and replacing a bus would run roughly $176,000.
The official said some older buses cannot be retrofitted because of manufacturer or warranty constraints; the combined retrofit and replacement estimate led staff to recommend the board adopt a resolution that the district’s budget does not allow full compliance by the Sept. 1, 2029 deadline. He said districts will submit fleet-cost data to the Texas Education Agency via Sentinel and that TEA will compile statewide estimates for the Legislature by Jan. 1, 2027.
Board President Gary Blizzard called for a motion to approve the proposed resolution; the motion was moved by Jordan and seconded by Stacia. The chair announced the motion passed; the transcript does not record a roll‑call vote or tally.
Why it matters: The resolution is a formal record that the district expects to be unable to meet the statutory seat‑belt deadline without new funding or other changes. If the Legislature or the state education agency provides aid or changes timelines, the district would revisit its compliance plan.
What happens next: The district said it will enter fleet data into Sentinel and submit it to TEA by the end of the school year. The resolution directs staff to document the district’s budgetary inability to comply for reporting purposes; a timetable for any follow‑up board action was not provided in the meeting record.
