On Tuesday, May 21, voters will decide on a school bus purchasing proposition at a total cost not to exceed $671,016. The proposal includes the purchase of two 66-passenger buses, one 37-passenger bus and one 30-passenger bus.
The proposed new bus purchases would replace a total of four buses; two 66-passenger buses, one 30-passenger bus, and one 28-passenger bus, each of which have an average of 11 years of service and 100,000 miles.
The state will reimburse the school up to 76 percent of the cost of the new vehicles. The district plans to sell/trade in four buses with an expected total trade-in value of $15,000. The local share for the remainder of the cost would be approximately $157,000.
The ideal replacement cycle for district buses is 10 years, when it is no longer cost effective to make the repairs needed to meet state inspection standards. Maintaining an aging school bus presents potential safety, maintenance and financial issues for the school district. After 10 to 12 years of service, bus maintenance costs increase by 10 to 20 percent and trade-in values decrease exponentially.
The district is required by the state to have enough buses to transport every student in the district in the event of an emergency, regardless of the number of students who walk or receive parent/guardian transportation to school. New Hartford buses transport approximately 2,500 students daily to 12 public, private and parochial schools, and travel 450,000 miles annually.