Parents press board over activity bus safety and vehicle choices; district says orders not yet placed

At the public forum, parent Laura Wodecki described repeated safety and comfort problems with the district's activity buses and urged the board to deliver the blue‑and‑white activity buses she was told would be purchased. She cited specific incidents, including an April 15 event in which bus A26 was pulled over and students were evacuated because of a burning smell, and other trips in which buses had no air conditioning or heat.

"I don't believe I'm asking for too much," Wodecki said, asking the board to acquire new smaller blue‑and‑white activity buses and to ensure existing buses are safe for students. She said the district ordered two yellow activity buses instead of the blue models she expected and said the smaller size and paint choice affect how useful the buses are for small group trips.

Finance director Ken (Ken) Love told trustees the district had not yet placed purchase orders for activity buses and had only collected price estimates for larger buses; he said the district planned to gather pricing for smaller models and may rehabilitate and repaint some existing vehicles to serve multiple purposes while waiting for new deliveries, which can take roughly a year.

Board members discussed tradeoffs between repainting existing activity buses, buying yellow buses for multi‑use flexibility, and the long lead times for new vehicles. Staff said they will return with cost estimates and a plan for rehabbing or ordering buses.