The Lake Travis ISD board of trustees discussed a 2015-16 budget amendment to the 2012 bond fund contingency account to allow for the purchase of 10 school buses during its Sept. 15 meeting.


Johnny Hill, assistant superintendent for business, financial and auxiliary services, said the district has 69 buses in its inventory. Of those buses, 63 are designated for daily school routes, and the remainder are used for field trips, transportation to athletic events and other activities. 


As a result of this shortage, he said the district must make several trips to transport students for games or charter three buses at a total cost of $2,000 to $4,000 per game. He said playoff game charters can total up to $7,000 to $9,000 per game.


Hill said each bus costs about $100,000, and he proposed transferring $1.1 million from the 2012 bond fund’s contingency account to purchase 10 buses this school year. He said $1.4 million will remain in the contingency fund should the bus purchase be approved by the board.


The district has added approximately 20 bus routes in the past five years, Hill said.


“The most pressing issue we have now is transportation,” he said.


Board members said they would like to see more information on the cost of chartering buses instead of spending the $1.1 million for the purchase of 10 buses.


Hill presented the issue for discussion purposes only, and the board will consider the issue again at its Oct. 20 meeting.