NBISD invests another $1.55M in school buses before potential price increase

All of the 54-passenger buses will be equipped with wheelchair lifts and floor tracking systems with anchorage for up to three wheelchairs, board documents state. The purchase is being funded by the district’s 2024 bond.

Zooming out

Senate Bill 546, which was passed by the Texas Senate during the 2025 legislative session, requires public school-operated buses to be equipped with three-point seatbelts for each passenger and bus driver. The district’s purchase brings the number of buses that do not meet SB 546 requirements down from 30 to 15. With the 15 buses purchased this year and five retrofit buses, all route buses would be equipped with three-point seat belts, according to a separate April 13 meeting presentation.

Five of the 15 remaining noncompliant buses would be retrofitted this summer and cost an estimated $185,000. A one-time budget amendment for the cost of this retrofit would be presented to the board in May. The 10 buses left would be in service temporarily. The district plans to replace these buses before the Sept. 1, 2029, compliance deadline, according to the presentation.

“By doing this two-phase approach, it will eliminate the need for costly retrofits on those end-of-life units,” NBISD’s Transportation Director Cesario Flores said during the meeting.