Bus riders on 30 of the 110 Limestone County Schools bus routes could spend the second half of the school year in a new, air-conditioned ride.

The Limestone County Board of Education on Tuesday approved the purchase of 30 buses for the district. LCS Director of Transportation Rusty Bates told The News Courier on Friday the buses were already ordered and should arrive in January 2020.

To keep the entire fleet at 110 buses plus 21 spares, 30 of the older buses will be sold. Some of them have been around since 1999 and cost almost their worth in repairs, Bates said Friday.

“One reason we carry so many spares is because we have such a terrible fleet,” Bates told board members in Tuesday’s work session, before the meeting in which the purchase was approved. “Once we get to where … our fleet is within 10 years (of age) and our spares are only 11 or 12 years old, we won’t need 21 and our number of spares can come down.”

The Alabama Fleet Renewal Program provides funding for school buses that are 10 years old or less and are used on daily routes. Bates explained to board members the amount provided is based on the cost of what the state considers a basic bus.

However, while the state is currently willing to pay 100% of the cost to purchase a base-model bus for LCS, that model does not come with air conditioning, Bates said. The upgrade costs $10,000 to $12,000 per bus, Bates told board members, and the district must cover the cost on its own to keep students cool on the ride to and from school.

He told The News Courier that since 2009, every bus purchased by the district has included the upgrade. After the new buses arrive in January 2020, about two-thirds of the district’s fleet will have air conditioning.

While a long-range plan for replacing the rest of the buses with newer, upgraded models was not approved, Bates said he was “thrilled” with the decision to purchase 30 buses this week after nearly three years without a purchase.

Ronald Christ, LCBOE District 3 representative, voted against the purchase. Christ did not respond to a request for comment Friday.

Other business

In other business, board members approved the following during the Tuesday meeting:

• Use of the Ardmore High School softball field by the youth softball team Aug. 21–Dec. 1 and June 1, 2020–Aug. 1, 2020, for practices;

• Use of the Tanner Elementary gym Aug. 13–Aug. 13, 2020, by Tanner Youth Elementary Sports for youth sports, volleyball and basketball;

• Ardmore High FFA members traveling Oct. 29–Nov. 1 to Indianapolis, Indiana, for the National FFA Convention;

• Ardmore High softball team traveling Feb. 21–22, 2020, to Alexander City for the Central Alabama Classic;

• Ardmore High softball team traveling March 30–31, 2020, to Murfreesboro, Tennessee, for the Southern Warrior Tournament;

• Elkmont High FFA livestock evaluation team traveling Oct. 11–13 to Perry, Georgia, to compete in the Georgia National Fair Contest;

• Sugar Creek Elementary fifth-grade students traveling Oct. 23–25 to Dauphin Island for a hands-on environmental field trip;

• Tanner High Band traveling Nov. 1–2 to Hoover for state marching competition;

• Tanner High Band traveling May 1–2, 2020, for Smoky Mountain Music Festival;

• All 10th, 11th and 12th grade students in the gifted program traveling Nov. 23–25 to Chattanooga, Tennessee, for Model United Nations;

• Pay increase from $70 per day to $100 per day for substitute nurses, effective October 2019;

• Payment of the annual AdvancED improvement fee for 2019-2020 at a cost of $19,200 from the general fund;

• GE Aviation project-based learning lessons at each of the six high schools during the 2019–2020 school year;

• AIDT’s use of FAME students to build an assembly line for the advanced manufacturing program at the Limestone County Career Technical Center;

• LCCTC’s purchase of a cart of Chromebooks at a cost of $5,998 using Perkins allocations and at no cost to the board;

• Contract renewal with Renaissance, including STAR 360, AR 360 and STAR Math for grades K-5 at a cost of $82,795 to be paid from state textbook funds at no cost to the board;

• Sophos Software annual renewal/license at a cost of $55,011.90, an annual budgeted item paid from the general fund;

• West Limestone High’s contract with BSN Sports for purchase/supply of athletic apparel and equipment;

• Renewal of SchoolDude contract at a cost of $14,806.70, an annual budgeted item paid from the general fund;

• Payments to SafeDefend for monitoring at six schools and the Central Office, support at six schools, non-warrant service work at West Limestone High and installation and support services at the Central Office at a total cost of $19,726.40 to be paid from the general fund; and

• West Limestone High’s payment of $21,783 to Calhoun Community College for dual-enrollment fees for History 201, History 202, English 101 and English 102 for the 2019-2020 school year using Title I funds and at no cost to the board.