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Hampshire County board approves leases, technology buys and a required bond rebate
Summary
The HAMPSHIRE COUNTY SCHOOLS board approved a series of purchases and leases — including a seven-bus lease-to-own package, Apple iPads for Hampshire High School and textbook adoptions — and authorized payment of a $724,151.70 IRS bond arbitrage rebate.
The HAMPSHIRE COUNTY SCHOOLS board voted to approve several procurement items and a required IRS payment during its meeting.
The board approved a lease-to-own purchase of seven school buses after staff presented a long-range fleet plan. Finance staff said the district will make a $450,000 down payment and expects annual lease payments of about $230,384 for three years on the financed amount; the vendor price per bus cited in the discussion was $157,818. Staff described a fleet of 79 buses, with 41 buses beyond the state’s 12-year eligible window and FY27 funding sized for a 32-bus reimbursable fleet. Mr. Jeff moved the bus motion and Mr. Lee seconded; the board approved it on an oral voice vote.
The board also approved purchase of Apple iPads for Hampshire High School funded from the district’s Tools for Schools fund at a cost of $91,827. Staff said families may buy optional AppleCare for $40 per year (covers two device repairs) and that vendor turnaround for repairs shipped to the manufacturer is typically two business days plus mailing time. The motion passed on voice vote.
On curriculum materials, the board adopted textbook recommendations from the district’s adoption committee covering health and wellness, drivers education, personal finance and music from kindergarten through high school. Staff emphasized that West Virginia requires districts to adopt textbooks but not to buy every adopted title immediately; purchases will be brought back to the board when staff know which items need to be purchased.
Separately, the board approved payment of a 2021 bond-series arbitrage rebate in the amount of $724,151.70 after finance staff explained that interest earned on unspent bond proceeds exceeded the bond yield. Staff said attorneys calculated the rebate and that the district must submit the payment to the IRS by July 19 to comply with federal requirements.
All motions were approved by voice vote; no roll-call tallies were recorded in the public transcript. The board did not set additional conditions for the approved items beyond standard procurement and scheduling steps.
The next procedural step for the bus order is issuing purchase orders and placing the district on the vendor queue, after which delivery timing (historically October–December) and vehicle outfitting will be scheduled.
