SALEM Schools save money by moving buses

Buses are temporarily parked at the high school.
By NORMAN LEIGH
VINDICATOR SALEM BUREAU
SALEM -- Finding a spot to house and maintain the city schools' bus fleet is a priority for the district.
School officials recently moved the district's nearly 17-bus fleet from a private, outdoor facility on Prospect Street where it had been kept and maintained for years, Superintendent Dr. David Brobeck said.
Buses are temporarily being stored outside at the high school.
The district was satisfied with the service provided by the private facility, but school officials have decided they want the buses kept on district property and maintained by district employees, Brobeck said.
Even factoring in the cost of building a bus garage and hiring a maintenance supervisor, the district believes it can save about $50,000 annually by handling bus storage and maintenance in-house, Brobeck added.
The district has placed advertisements for a person to serve as both maintenance and transportation supervisor. That job should be filled soon, the superintendent said.
The next step is finding a bus garage site.
Prospective location
The district is looking at several locations in and around the city, including the Herron Transfer Co. property, 1026 Franklin Ave.
The site, located near a residential area, has a garage for housing trucks and for storage. The building could be converted to a bus garage, school officials have said.
Before the property can be used for that purpose, however, permission must be granted by the city zoning office.
The city initially approved the use, but residents living nearby protested the decision. They said they don't want a bus garage near their homes.
The protest sparked a zoning appeals board hearing in November. The panel overturned the decision permitting the bus garage.
A Columbiana County Common Pleas Court judge, however, later cited a technicality and reversed the zoning board's denial.
It's now up to Herron Realty, the property owner, to apply for permission to use the site for a bus garage, city zoning officer Patrick Morrissey said.
Another use application could result in a second hearing before the zoning appeals board.
Excess cash
Regardless of where the school district eventually establishes a bus garage, it has money available to help pay for the facility.
The district recently realized a nearly $1.6 million windfall when its new treasurer, hired in March, reviewed the district's finances and discovered the district is still collecting 1.3 mills of property tax for a loan paid off months ago.
The millage was applied in 1990 to pay for a 20-year loan taken out to fund renovations to Reilly Stadium and make other school building improvements.
The loan was paid off sometime in 2001 or 2002, but the 1.3 mills was never removed from the tax rolls.
For reasons school officials have been unable to explain, the millage has continued to be collected and has accumulated nearly $1.6 million.
The district is taking steps to remove the millage by the first of the year. It must now decide how to use the money.
Using it for a new bus garage is a possibility, Brobeck said. But the final decision is up to the school board.
He added that he's hopeful the matter of where the district's buses will be housed can be resolved before year's end.
leigh@vindy.com