Schools
Board of Education Rolls Forward with Financing New Buses
Following voters' approval in May, the district will purchase one bus and one van to cost no more than $170,000.
Kings Park school officials are rolling towards the purchase of new buses to help transporting students.
Kings Park Board of Education approved financing the purchase of one new school bus and one new school van through U.S. Bancorp Government Leasing and Finance Inc. at their Tuesday night meeting.
Kings Park district residents approved a separate proposition in May to authorize board trustees to purchase a new school bus and a new van for no more than $170,000. The approved RFP comes in at $160,932.10 including the principal and interest cost for the two vehicles financed over 5 years, well under the approved limit.
The Kings Park School District owns their bus fleet and bus drivers are employed by the district, not by an outside agency.
“We made a commitment to our buses and drivers. We have 60 buses and we are talking about two,” said board trustee Charlie Leo told Patch in April. “We need them (additional buses) to keep our commitment to the community.”
Tom Locascio, vice president of the board of education, did have one suggestion regarding the district's buses and the future.
"I would like to revisit the natural gas option we discussed at some point," Locascio said.
The Town of Smithtown and several other town municipalities across Long Island have saved money on busing and garbage hauling by requiring their contractors to use natural gas-powered vehicles.
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