The days of sweating it out on the bus ride home are almost over for students in Katy ISD. In August the school board approved $1.5 million to retrofit most of the district's route buses with air conditioning.

"We're looking at eventually putting AC on all of the route buses," said Alan Anders, director of transportation for KISD.

Buses that are newer than either eight or nine years old will be retrofit, depending on the final cost per bus, he said. The district has 193 buses that are eight years old or newer. There are 30 additional buses that are nine years old.

Transportation officials are outlining the specifications for the project before opening it up for bidding.

The earliest the department could make a bid recommendation to the school board is the November meeting, he said. Work would begin after that.

The heat experienced by drivers and students is certainly a motivation in the decision, Anders said. Surrounding districts have largely done the same thing.

"It gets quite warm on the buses," he said. "Most people right now wouldn't go out and buy a new automobile without AC. We felt that it was good timing for us to take a look at it," he said.

Anders said to his knowledge there have not been any heat-related incidents on the buses, but the department prepares for such contingencies. Having AC will help not only students but with the recruitment and retention of drivers.

Funds for the project are a special allotment from the General Fund.