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Chico ISD board says budget won’t cover retrofitting all buses with three‑point belts; directs SB 546 report
Summary
The board voted 7–0 to determine the district cannot retrofit or purchase enough buses to install three‑point seat belts for all vehicles under Texas law and directed administration to submit required public reporting and a Texas Education Agency filing under Senate Bill 546.
The Chico Independent School District Board of Trustees voted unanimously April 23 to find that the district’s 2025–26 budget “does not permit the district to purchase or retrofit all buses with three‑point seat belts” and instructed administration to complete the public reporting and submission required by Senate Bill 546.
Trustee Cassie Skinner moved the finding and the board approved it 7–0. The motion as recorded stated: “I move that we determine that, based on current budget constraints and financial priorities, Chico ISD's 2025-2026 budget does not permit the district to purchase or retrofit all buses with three-point seat belts as required under Texas Transportation Code §547.701(f). The Board directs the administration to complete the required public reporting and submission to the Texas Education Agency in compliance with Senate Bill 546.”
The board listed three buses under consideration in the motion: Bus 11 (2022 Ford Blue Bird, mileage 21,293.1), Bus 9 (2013 Blue Bird, mileage 83,571.7) and Bus 10 (2013 Blue Bird, mileage 90,979.2). The action does not direct a retrofit program but requires the district to complete the public notice and TEA filing that SB 546 prescribes when retrofit purchase is not feasible for the budget year.
The decision records the board’s fiscal rationale; it does not itself change routes, maintenance practices or immediate vehicle operations. The board’s next steps are administrative: complete the SB 546 public reporting and submit documentation to the Texas Education Agency as required by statute.
