At the Nov. 18 board of trustees meeting, the CISD board approved the purchase of the 15 buses for an amount not to exceed $1,585,000. The district plans to pay for the buses using 2017 bond funds.
In May 2017, CISD voters approved a $208 million bond focused on alleviating capacity issues as well as many upgrades and maintenance projects throughout the district. Part of the package included a plan to replace all 77 of the district's school buses and other vehicles over the next five years with a budget of $7.5 million, according to district documents.
The average life span of a bus is 10 years, and many of the district’s buses are 12-18 years old, according to district documents.
The buses will be 2021 gasoline buses equipped with three-point seat belts and a safety vision camera system, said Scott Wrehe, CISD assistant superintendent for financial services.
Fourteen of the 15 new buses will be able to seat 77 passengers, and one will seat 54 passengers, he said.
This marks the fourth phase of the the district’s efforts to gradually replace all 77 of its current buses over the next five years, per district documents. The new buses are expected to be delivered in four to six months.
All K-12 students will be on the new buses once they are delivered, Wrehe said.
