Wednesday, September 18, 2024
Granbury Independent School District plans to acquire new school buses following a resolution passed by the school board Aug. 19. The board approved a proposal to allocate $750,000 from the district’s committed fund balance toward the purchase of five new buses, addressing an urgent need for fleet modernization.
During the meeting, GISD Chief Financial Officer Emmett Whitefield highlighted the necessity of updating the district’s aging fleet. “The commitment of these funds will allow us to proceed with the planned purchase of new buses,” Whitefield said. “We anticipate the funds will come from the sale of five acres in Acton at James Road, which is projected to be completed soon.”
Currently, GISD operates 54 regular buses and 18 special education buses, many of which are over a decade old. According to Whitefield, the district has purchased 19 buses out of maintenance and operations funds since the 2015-16 school year. The last major purchase was made using bond money from 2013, which funded 16 buses over three years.
Whitefield emphasized the new buses are crucial for maintaining reliable transportation services for the district's students. “We have an aging fleet with some buses exceeding 150,000 miles,” Whitefield noted. “These new buses will help us keep up with the demands of our growing district and improve the comfort and safety for our students.”
The board’s resolution also commits $540,000 to the Instructional Improvement Fund, ensuring the district remains above the 20% fund balance requirement set forth in policy. The policy mandates that GISD maintain a sufficient fund balance to support fiscal independence in times of financial need or crisis.
Superintendent Jeremy Glenn emphasized the necessity of maintaining and expanding the district’s bus fleet. “With our district covering 225 square miles and running 54 bus routes daily, it’s critical to have reliable transportation,” he said.
Glenn highlighted the extensive use of the district’s buses, noting that they collectively cover the distance equivalent to traveling from San Diego to Charleston, South Carolina, and back each day. “We go through a thousand gallons of fuel per day,” Glenn said.
GISD has faced significant challenges with its aging bus fleet amid the sweltering Texas heat. Recent complaints from parents have highlighted persistent issues with the air conditioning systems on the district’s buses. Despite efforts by the maintenance team to address these problems, the extreme temperatures have compounded the difficulties.
“In the last couple of weeks, we’ve experienced temperatures reaching 100 degrees with heat indexes soaring to 110 degrees,” said Whitefield. “We’re running buses that are essentially uninsulated, and with blacktop temperatures sometimes hitting 150 degrees, it’s a tough situation.”
Glenn praised the GISD maintenance department. “They've been able to keep our buses up and running this year, and even though it's an older fleet, they've been able to keep the air conditioners on and working,” he said. “Although it still gets hot, because again, when you're stopping and you're opening the door so frequently, and you have 60 kids on a bus, it's going to get a little warm, but, but I know they're working hard to make it more comfortable, and certainly that'll come as the weather cools off.”
At the meeting, resident Beverly Chaney said she was “shocked” by the spread of false narratives about the district. “I wasn’t shocked about what I found out about GISD,” she said. “I was shocked that so many people are spreading a false narrative without doing research. Things are being said that are simply not true, and those things are being repeated as fact. It’s amazing to me that that’s happening.”
Cheney addressed concerns about the district’s transportation situation and defended the board’s approach. “I researched the district’s transportation history and found that we have been diligently updating our fleet,” Cheney said. “Despite some criticism, our district has made significant efforts to manage and improve our transportation services.”
She pointed out that 19 of the district's buses are more than 12 years old and have over 125,000 miles on them. "I wonder how many of us in this room drive a 12-year-old vehicle," she remarked.
Many of these buses have had major work done, including engine overhauls and replacements, to keep them running. "These buses drive routes that average 100 miles a day, carrying precious cargo, and they're doing it this week in record heat," Chaney said.
She urged the board to maintain the 4.4% of the annual budget designated for transportation and suggested that those criticizing the school district and the transportation department online should redirect their energy elsewhere.
The decision to use committed funds for bus purchases follows a previous failure of a bond measure that would have included additional buses. The new resolution will allow GISD to purchase the buses without the need for new bonds, utilizing funds from property sales.
Whitefield further explained, “The commitment of these funds will be reflected in our audit, showing that they are earmarked for vehicle purchases. This is a strategic move to ensure we can maintain our fleet effectively.”
