New Buses To Fill Serious Void
Purchasing orders for the ten new school buses approved by the school board this month are in progress and “moving along,” said Patrick Lefere, executive director of operations and planning for the Monroe County School District, on Tuesday, adding that the buses will fill a serious deficiency in the district.
The school district owns 59 buses but eight are not operational, he said. “Ideally, a district will buy a few buses every year to minimize repairs and maximize fuel efficiency.”
He added, “They’ve been a bit of a long time coming.” Statewide, as of January this year, there were about 18,500 school buses, 23 percent of which were under five years old, the time period during which buses are under warranty. “Not one of Monroe County’s buses is now” in that category, and only four buses were purchased five years ago.
Five of the new buses are “standard,” with 77 seats and no seat belts, he said. Three others are “wheelchair capable,” with “removable seats in back, a lift and special floor attachments.” The last two are designed “for preK with belt harnesses for the little guys and girls. We don’t want them bouncing around in there.”
The district currently has 51 operational school buses for 41 routes and has not been able to fulfill the full need for transportation for field trips and extracurricular activities including athletics.
“This is a good shot in the arm for us,” Lefere said. The next step is to “hire new drivers” so that the new buses will be able to join the fleet by the beginning of the 2104-15 school year.
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