South Colonie Voters Approve October 12th Bus Purchase Proposition

Posted october 12, 2011

South Colonie voters went to the polls on Wednesday, October 12th, and approved the annual school bus purchase proposition by a vote of 548-252.

"We want to thank everyone who exercised their right to vote and all of the people who volunteered their time to work at the polls," said Superintendent Jonathan Buhner. "We couldn't have done it without them."

The district was seeking voter approval to spend $630,000 to purchase seven new transportation vehicles to meet the district’s annual replacement schedule. The School Bus Proposition breaks down as follows:

• $446,000: purchase of four, 66-passenger school buses, at $111,500 per vehicle
  

• $115,000 for the purchase of one, 20-passenger school bus with two-wheelchair station

• $92,000 for the purchase of two, 20-passenger school bus vans at $46,000 per vehicle

A bus purchase vote is held each year because the annual replacement plan of the existing fleet helps the district to maintain student safety and control repair and maintenance costs on older buses. A well thought out bus replacement plan is more cost effective and enables the district to consolidate routes and adjust its fleet as needed year to year. The replacement plan has also helped the district establish an excellent safety record with the New York State Department of Transportation.

The district’s 82-unit bus fleet travels nearly one million miles a year. The average life of a bus is 12 years and 150,000-175,000 miles. The buses are usually never retired for mechanical reasons, said Transportation Director Peter Tunny, but because the bodies wear out.

The total estimated cost of the seven new vehicles is $653,000. After receiving an estimated $23,000 trade-in value on the buses that will be taken out of service, the total cost to the district for the seven new vehicles will be $630,000.

The district is also eligible to receive 51 percent of the purchase in state aid making the district’s net cost $320,226. The money will be borrowed over a five-year period.

The cost to South Colonie property owners for the new transportation vehicles will be about 2.6 cents per $1,000 of assessed value. On an average home/business assessed at $150,000, the total cost will be about $4 per property.