Lake Shore School District sets special transportation purchase vote for March 6

Voters in the Lake Shore Central School District will be asked to consider a special referendum for the purchase of transportation vehicles on March 6 as the district is seeking approval to purchase five full-size 71-passenger Blue Bird diesel school buses, one 30-passenger Blue Bird gasoline school bus, two wheelchair Blue Bird gasoline buses, one plow truck and one service truck for the district.

The Blue Bird buses are seen as solid and dependable in the industry, said school officials. During a site visit with Blue Bird, transportation department employees noted increased visibility, easier engine access for maintenance, a wider entry path for students and safety view vision panels.

This proposition authorizes the expenditure of $823,889.41 for the vehicles. The full-size 71-passenger Blue Bird diesel school buses cost $112,953.11 each for a total of $564,765.55, while the one 30-passenger Blue Bird gasoline school bus costs $51,783.74, the two wheelchair Blue Bird gasoline buses cost $62,446.06 each for a total of $124,892.12, the Ford F-350 plow truck costs $31,956 and the Ford F-350 service truck will cost $50,492.

“We believe this proposition is structured to have little or negligible impact on our tax levy and district taxpayers,” Assistant Superintendent for Administration and Finance Daniel Pacos said. “The district receives aid on vehicles used for student transportation and we can offset most of the local share of the proposition by savings on maintenance of vehicles that will be removed from service, the sale of the buses removed from service at auction, and revenue from structured borrowing.”

The cost of the proposition covers the complete purchase of these warranted vehicles and will save the district an estimated $84,000 in on-going annual maintenance costs and will generate additional funds to offset the expenditure by the sale of the used vehicles.

“We wage a constant battle with rust and corrosion with our fleet,” LSCSD Transportation Director Perry Oddi said. “As our buses surpass 100,000 miles and a decade of service it becomes harder to pass inspections and maintain the engines and chassis.”

Oddi suggested to the school board at its Jan. 3 work session that the district should get themselves on a 10-year replacement schedule of their transportation vehicles, due to the wear and tear as the entire fleet travels over 700,000 miles per year, transporting nearly 3,000 people daily. He added that the purchase of the five new vehicles would work to right-size the transportation department, which was downsized by 13 vehicles. This past fall, the district piloted an online auction service for the sale of buses removed from service. The results were very successful with increased revenue and decreased expenditure.

“The successful passage of this proposition brings us closer to our goal of a 10-year rotation of our student transportation vehicles,” Oddi said. “These buses will replace 2001 models with 95,000 to 130,000 miles. The non-passenger vehicles slated to replace are a retired plow truck in need of extensive repair and bodywork and a 1992 dump truck that is a retired snow plow vehicle.”

Board Member Carmen Garozzo stressed the importance of this vote.

“If you want to have your voice heard, this is the time to do so,” he said.

Superintendent James Przepasniak also pointed out that the public has the opportunity to educate themselves prior to the critical vote.

“Through our efforts, there is more information and more documents available to the public than in the past,” he said. “These documents are available for our community members to read and review for themselves.”

The district-owned fleet currently is comprised of 76 DOT certified school vehicles and 17 buildings and grounds vehicles.

In other news:

• The Finance Academy will be holding its major fundraising event, a 3-on-3 charity basketball tournament, Saturday, March 3. Further details will be provided in the near future.

• The board will hold a special meeting and public hearing on Feb. 28 in order to discuss the proposed resolution to purchase the vehicles.

• A retirement incentive to qualified full-time district employees for the 2011-12 school year was approved. This incentive may reduce salary expenditures in the 2012-13 school year. Eligible full-time employees may opt for the retirement incentive until March 1, 2012 and must retire from their current positions effective June 30, 2012. The incentive would offer a $15,000 payment to retirees or one year of health insurance. This additional benefit does not replace any contractual retirement benefits currently available to employees.

The next Lake Shore School Board meeting will take place Tuesday, Feb. 14. The board’s next workshop session will be Tuesday, Feb. 7.