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Superintendent flags new UIL WBGT requirements and seatbelt costs as bus-safety challenge
Summary
Superintendent Jennifer Bordner warned the board that new UIL WBGT heat-index recording requirements would be burdensome to document and described a vendor solution (Perry Weather ~ $4,000/year) and a TEA grant of $6,000; retrofitting buses for seatbelts was estimated at about $30,000 per bus.
Superintendent Jennifer Bordner told the board that new UIL WBGT (wet bulb globe temperature) requirements will require districts to read and record temperatures 15 minutes before activities and every 30 minutes during activity, maintain a nearby cool-off location and have an action plan. "It would be a lot for our people to document accurately," she said, and presented a vendor option, Perry Weather, which she said "records the data and send notifications" for about $4,000 per year.
Bordner also summarized TEA funding available for bus safety—a TEA grant she noted as $6,000—but cautioned that retrofitting current buses to add seatbelts could cost an estimated $30,000 per bus. The board discussed budgeting for a new bus over the next two years as an alternative to paying retrofit costs now; no motion was made during the meeting.
Board members asked for options and noted the administrative burden of manual recording during summer and athletic events. The business office will include these cost estimates and grant possibilities in upcoming budget discussions scheduled for August.
