District flags aging bus fleet and driver shortage as safety and scheduling concern

Transportation supervisor Kurt Oswald told the board the district entered the school year short-handed, running eight routes with seven drivers and limited spare drivers for trips and activities.

"We made it 11, what, 10 days into the school and, it's it's going — it's going well," Oswald said, while describing maintenance work to diagnose electrical problems on a bus and an ongoing shortage of substitute drivers (SEG 605–618, SEG 686–697). He said the district has 17 buses on the roster but only 16 are in regular service, and two pushers and an activity bus are critical to trip operations (SEG 1061–1071, SEG 1107–1110).

Board members pressed on costs and timing. Oswald said refurbishment estimates can begin at modest upfront costs but that thorough rebuilds become expensive; new bus procurement can take about eight to nine months and some new bus pricing for larger units could exceed six figures, he said (SEG 719–726, SEG 731–733). "It's about I haven't talked to him in the last just in the last 2 weeks, but it's typically, buses are about 9 months," he said (SEG 731–733).

Board members recommended getting current quotes and exploring trade-offs between refurbishing aging pushers and ordering replacements. One board member urged starting with at least one replacement this year if feasible, saying "we're gonna have no buses one day" if the fleet continues to age without action (SEG 889–892, SEG 882–885). The administration said it will gather updated bids and report back.

The report also covered operational issues such as driver communication with families, options for smaller activity buses, and the impact of national driver shortages on scheduling and route planning (SEG 1230–1240, SEG 995–1006).