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Some students in the Harlan Independent School District will soon find themselves riding in a new bus following the district’s board approval of the vehicle purchase.

Superintendent C.D. Morton supplied the board with the details on the bus.

“Last month, we approved the resolution to work…on the financing,” Morton said. “They’re probably about four months behind on what they do for bus purchases. What they do is they roll that out for all school districts at the same time.”

Morton explained that all districts must follow a process concerning the purchase of buses.

“Normally, you would order a bus in September or October, and you would get it in late April or early May,” Morton explained. “These are 240 days out, so it’s going to be a little bit longer by the time we order this.”

According to Morton, the bus in question is a standard 66-passenger school bus. He pointed out new school buses have more standard features than in the past, including air conditioning.

“When air conditioning first came on the scene for school buses, it was in the $30,000 to $40,000 range, so we never did that,” Morton said. “We can get air conditioning on this bus at about $10,000, plus we’ll finance over a 10-year period…other than that, it’s a standard school bus will all the bells and whistles.”

Morton noted school bus prices have increased a large amount in recent years.

“When I first started as transportation director, we could get a brand-new bus with all the bells and whistles for about $70,000,” Morton said. “In 2023…it’s about $153,000.”

Morton recommended the board approve the acquisition of the school bus.

Board member Virgil Eversole made a motion to approve the purchase of the school bus, seconded by Will Miller. The motion passed with no opposition.

In other board activity:

· The board approved a call for bids for a fiber optic network extension.

· A consolidated district improvement plan was approved.

· A bond of depository with Commercial Bank was approved.

· The board approved the monthly financial report.