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District hears seat‑belt retrofit cost estimates; compliance deadline cited as Sept. 1, 2029
Summary
Transportation staff reported preliminary TEA seat‑belt reporting and retrofit estimates: two buses are compliant, three large buses and one small bus are not; installer quotes were cited at approximately $32,000 per bus, with total retrofit estimates in the low hundreds of thousands.
District transportation staff presented required TEA seat‑belt reporting and sketched out retrofit costs and timeline uncertainties. The presenter — introduced as Mr. Chamberlain for the agenda item — said the state appears to be collecting cost data and the district currently has two buses with seat belts in compliance but several older buses that would need retrofits or replacement.
On costs and timing, the presenter noted: "It's $32,000 just for the seats to be installed," and said preliminary math put a full‑fleet compliance estimate in the neighborhood of $200,000 (not including the small bus). The board discussed options including fleet replacement phased over years, grant attempts that were denied for older buses, and the risk that installer capacity could create long lead times. The presenter also cited the state's compliance target — reported as Sept. 1, 2029 — and said the district plans to file the TEA report while watching legislative developments.
