At its Tuesday, Jan. 23, meeting, the Guilderland school board heard an equipment purchase proposal for the 2007-2008 school year.
The proposal, which was outlined by Assistant superintendent for Business Neil Sanders, included the purchase of 11 buses and a pick-up truck with plow.
The entire proposal carries a cost of $835,000 and would add to the district’s fleet five 65-passenger buses, three 30-passenger buses and three 24-passenger buses that could be equipped with wheelchair seating. The district is eligible to receive up to $390,000 in state aid for the purchases.
The new buses would replace 10 buses in the district’s fleet that currently have between 105,000 miles and 168,000 miles. The truck that would be replaced is 12 years old and has 140,000 miles. There are currently 91 active buses and 24 spares in the district’s fleet.
The new buses are being added as part of the district’s rolling purchase schedule, every new bus replaces an active one, which then becomes a spare.
Board member Hy Dubowsky asked if the buying schedule is in place so that the district always has enough buses at its disposal rather than getting sticker shock when you have no buses one day.
Sanders said that it was.
Dubowsky also sought clarification on where the need for new buses arises, and said he often hears questions like: `Why do we have to have new buses each year?`
Sanders said that under the current routing system, the same bus conducts runs to the elementary, middle and high schools in both the morning and the afternoon.
`So we’re putting on a tremendous amount of miles,` said Sanders. `Our whole fleet produces 1.5 million miles annually.`
Dubowsky also inquired about the issue of upkeep on buses, notably rust.
According to Sanders, the state Department of Transportation is stringent in its standards for school buses, and that rust can’t simply be patched; if there is rust on the bus, the entire panel must be replaced.
Those same high standards are applied to the entire bus.
`You can’t have so much as a bulb out,` said Sanders.
Board president Richard Weisz inquired about the need for 24 spare buses. Sanders said that since the DOT needs to inspect each bus twice a year, and it is such an involved process, five or six buses are usually prepped for, and awaiting, inspection. Additionally, seven or more buses may be receiving maintenance, anywhere from two to eight are reserved to transport sports teams, and others may have to go back to the manufacturer for repairs the district’s garage can’t do itself.
`Oftentimes we’re fairly depleted in terms of spare buses at any given time,` said Sanders.
Board member Denise Eisele asked Sanders to clarify the addition of the 24-passenger buses, which are adaptable for wheelchair use.
Sanders said the buses are capable of handling five wheelchair stations or 24 passengers and any configurable combination in between.
`Would they reconfigure that on a need basis,` asked Eisele.
`Yes. Really what it means is as our needs change during the course of the year or from year to year, we’re able to reconfigure this bus and use it in different ways, and it doesn’t lock us in,` said Sanders.
Weisz said he would like to see a more detailed breakdown on the need, and use of, spare buses and the need to keep the active fleet at its current size.
`I don’t know if I’m really satisfied with buying 11 buses this year particularly when we see a projection of fewer kids going forward,` said Weisz. `If our five-year plan is to shrink the district by 10 percent , we would think the number of buses we need would shrink also, and I don’t see anything in our plan that reflects that.`
The board could move forward by adding the bus purchases to the 2007-2008 budget as early as the next board meeting. The preliminary budget would be approved by the board in April and by the public at the budget vote on May 15.“