The Marion County School Board has approved the purchase of twelve new 77-passenger school buses, including four that will come equipped with lifts for disabled students.
The school board unanimously approved the purchase during its regular meeting on Tuesday, September 24.
In total, the county is using approximately $1,915,904 from its capital projects fund to purchase the 12 vehicles.
According to district records, the eight regular school buses will be purchased for $1,286,080 (i.e., $160,760 per vehicle), while the school buses with lifts will cost around $157,456 each, or $629,824 for all four.
The school district currently underfunds its need for transportation in attempt to stretch dollars that it puts towards capital projects.
Currently, approximately 22,000 students are transported nearly 32,000 miles each school day in Marion County.
During the board’s meeting, staff indicated that if the district were to fully fund the need for bus replacements, it would need approximately $5 million per year.
Records show that the lift buses will be purchased from the Florida Transportation System, Inc., Blue Bird Corporation. The other eight buses will be purchased from Matthews Bus Alliance, Inc.
Now that the purchases have been approved, the buses must be delivered within 365 days of the vendor receiving the purchase order, according to county records.
The Marion County School Board regularly meets on the second and fourth Tuesday of every month.
