Scobey K-12 board weighs buying 54-seat school bus, trading cruisers to shore up activity transport

Committee member said the meeting was intended as "open discussion" to "create a plan" for replacing aging vehicles and to prioritize purchases within the district budget. The group focused first on whether to acquire a 54-passenger yellow school bus for route and large-event use, then on how to fund and sequence that purchase.

The discussion centered on funding and operational constraints. Director warned the quoted price for a 54-passenger unit had risen sharply, with numbers around $190,000 cited in the meeting, and noted the district could use bus depreciation funds or pursue a short-term local loan to spread cost. Director said a loan option used previously was a five-year local loan at roughly 3 percent; "you can add as many yellow buses as you want to if you have your money," the Director added when discussing procurement flexibility.

Committee member pushed for a conservative, staged approach: buy a yellow bus first if timing and price make sense, then trade an older cruiser for a 15-passenger activity bus so the district still has route capacity and additional activity vehicles. Staff member and Director walked through trade and depreciation rules, emphasizing that depreciation funds have restrictions and that auditors closely review how transportation funds are used.

Speakers reviewed the district's bus-depreciation balance on paper. The Director and Committee member discussed roughly $483,000 in bus-depreciation funds and estimated that buying a new yellow bus in the $180,000–$190,000 range would leave the district about $293,000; additional trading to obtain a 15-passenger vehicle could reduce available depreciation to roughly $180,000 depending on trade-in values. Committee member cautioned that exact trade-in proceeds were uncertain and should not be assumed.

Operational constraints shaped the decision calculus. Committee member noted only a small number of staff (named by colleagues in the meeting as Sean and Tammy) currently hold the necessary qualifications to drive a 54-passenger bus for long trips; the group discussed encouraging more community members or staff to pursue CDLs to expand the driver pool. The meeting also flagged schedule changes at the junior-high level — combining boys’ and girls’ events — which increases same-day travel demand and complicates vehicle assignment.

No formal motion or vote was recorded. By consensus the board directed staff to check availability, price and delivery timelines for a 54-passenger yellow bus (including whether a stock vehicle or quicker delivery exist) and to return with updated cost and procurement options; pickup logistics (one speaker said they could travel to pick up a bus in Pittsburgh) and licensing requirements were to be confirmed before a purchase. The board emphasized caution given audit exposure if depreciation funds are used improperly.

Next steps: staff will report back with concrete quotes, expected delivery times and refined budget impacts so the board can decide whether to proceed this fiscal year or stage purchases over multiple years.