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Board discusses buying buses, truck and tractor; staff says bus purchases account for most of the added cost
Summary
Staff said about $513,000 of the draft budget increase is tied to planned bus purchases and related equipment; the board was told those purchases largely come from reserves and would not increase taxes when funded from reserves.
Board staff described multiple proposed capital purchases in the transportation and facilities lines, including additional student buses and smaller equipment such as a tractor and plow truck for plant operations. Hayden said purchases of additional buses account for roughly 95 percent of the increase in the transportation line and noted those purchases are shown in the draft budget as coming from reserves.
"...about 95% of that increase is just due to those bus purchases this year," Hayden said while explaining the transportation line. Committee members asked whether purchases such as tractors or plow trucks were classified as transportation or facilities; staff clarified that vehicles which transport students are treated differently for aidability than tractors/maintenance equipment and that non-transportation equipment falls under facilities/plant.
Board members and staff discussed sequencing: if some capital propositions pass and others do not, the items voted down would be removed and the district would not necessarily draw on reserves differently. Staff emphasized that when bus purchases are funded from the reserve there is "no additional tax increase for the taxpayer," because the money is already held in reserve.
