Trustees Approve Purchase Of New Activities Bus At September Meeting

 

September 22, 2022



The Broadus School Board Trustees met for their regular monthly meeting on September 19th, with Shasta Madsen and Rob Jones absent from the meeting, all other members in attendance. The agenda was relatively light for the evening, with the recommendations of the buildings and grounds committee taking center stage as the board approved the purchase of a new activities bus to replace the 1987 MCI bus.

Student Council President Rheanna Schroeder gave the Student Council Report, commenting on highlights from Homecoming.

Next up was attendance and transportation contracts where two new student attendances were approved, as well as several transportation contracts.

The board approved the resignation of Rhonda Rogers as janitor as well as Melani Draine as elementary classroom aide, while approving Marlee Bilbrey and Jordan Smith as substitute teachers, and Kevin Samuelson as JH football volunteer, all pending background checks.

Two new bus stops were approved, at Eric Myers’ and Evan Smith’s residences on Hwy 59 North.

The board then heard the recommendations of the buildings and grounds committee, which had met earlier in the evening.

At a previous meeting the buildings and grounds committee was tasked with looking into the purchase of a new or “new to us” bus.

The current activity buses owned by the school have seen some hard use over the years, and were purchased used with around 1 million miles on the odometers. Over the years the school has replaced many parts on the old buses (one of which is a 1987 model), including at least one engine and transmission and several other issues which left a bus stranded with students aboard.

Superintendent Hansen commented that the school adds around 12,000 miles per year on the buses, and he wasn’t sure on current mileage but judging by the purchase dates in the 1990s, the school likely added at least another quarter million miles to the already high total.

The committee found that the going rate for a 2015 model replacement bus with up to a million miles is around $250,000, a slightly newer 2017 or 2018 with 200-300 thousand miles runs in the 330-380 thousand dollar range, and a new bus with warranty runs $595,000.

When the committee ran the numbers on expected costs going forward such as maintenance and the expectation of five years of additional use out of a newer bus, as well as the benefit of having a warranty, the difference in price between a new bus and a used bus narrowed considerably.

The recommendation of the committee was to move forward with the purchase of a new bus. Delivery was expected to be at least four months in the future.

If the new bus lasts a comparable amount of time to the 1987 bus, Broadus Schools could still be driving the bus in 2057.

Other recommendations of the committee included looking further into housing projects at property owned by the school in order to attract and keep staff. The current thought is to put up a housing unit at the property across the street in front of the high school, while also building or moving in a house for administration behind the elementary.

The third recommendation of the committee was to look into finishing the mini-split AC unit project in classrooms, which have proven to be a wonderful addition to those rooms which already have them, keeping students cool and on task during the heat of early fall.

Superintendent Hansen also commented on the ongoing electrical work at the high school; he asked the board for permission to sign a contract to complete the work.

These four tasks – purchase of a new bus, further research into additional housing, additional mini-split AC installation, and signing of an electrician contract, were approved by the board.

The final item on the agenda was the addition of a mental health screening for 9th and 10th grade students. Last year the board approved Counselor Dori Phillips’ request to provide a screening for 7th and 8th grade students to help gauge the students mental health, and the results showed that student mental health could use some attention, indeed this has been shown to be a major issue across Montana and the nation. The board approved the additional screening for the classes requested.

During Principal Denise Ternes’ report to the board she noted that enrollment is up compared to last year, in fact in the JH and HS at this time last year enrollment was 99 students; this year that number stands at 113. Some of that is due to the large 7th grade class this year, but a number of new students have joined the ranks of Broadus Schools this year.

 

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