Voters in the Arlington Public Schools area will see a school bus levy on the coming Nov. 4 ballot. The district has not previously run a transportation levy. Funds from this levy will be used to replace our oldest school buses. We currently have 49 buses in the district’s fleet, 49 percent of our buses are 12 years or older. The oldest bus we have is 28 years old.
There are three reasons why replacing old buses is important. 1) Student safety: Newer buses are safer for students due to improved seat designs, additional emergency exits, stronger body construction, anti-lock brakes, better traction control and larger windshield’s providing better visibility for the drivers. 2) Operating efficiency: Older buses are much more expensive to maintain and are more likely to break down. Our own records demonstrate that buses older than 12 years (the design lifespan of a school bus) cost 260 percent more to maintain. 3) New buses are better for the environment. Technology improvements have dramatically reduced harmful emissions from diesel buses.
As the supervisor of transportation for Arlington Public Schools, I am proud of the job that our mechanics and drivers do with the equipment we currently have, keeping Arlington’s school children safe! Considering that our buses travel an average of 630,000 miles each year, maintaining an aging fleet is challenging and parts are becoming more difficult to find. Each year the Washington State Patrol inspects all of our buses, while we continue to have great inspections, the officers are telling us that our older buses need to be replaced. In fact, we have the oldest fleet in Snohomish County.
Please support the children of our community by voting yes on Nov. 4.
Cheryl Power
Citizens Committee for Arlington Schools
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