Boardman school board OKs buying new bus equipped with wheelchair lift
STAFF REPORT
BOARDMAN — The board of education will seek bids for a 60-passenger bus with a wheelchair lift.
The new bus will replace one of the two existing special-education buses, which are about 10 years old, Superintendent Frank Lazzeri said Monday.
The district will pay for the bus with part of the $1.1 million in federal stimulus money it will receive, Lazzeri said, adding that the average cost of a 72-passenger bus is about $80,000.
Lazzeri said that past state support for special-education buses has dried up of late.
“They’ve pulled back more and more state subsidy for transportation,” he said.
The board also approved a motion to send its members to a statewide conference of boards of education in Columbus Nov. 8-11.
The district allots about $5,000 each year for educational trips for the board, and this trip will cost about $2,000, Treasurer Richard Santilli said.
Lazzeri said the retreat will put the board members in the classroom eight hours a day, brushing up on new laws and changes to the state budget.
At the end of the meeting, the board voted to enter executive session to discuss the “lease or purchase of property,” but Lazzeri said it would not vote and did not elaborate further about the property.