As director of operations the Arlington School District I wanted to respond to questions recently raised by Herald readers on the use of the district’s Transportation Vehicle Fund (TVF) and the cost of school buses. When a school district purchases a new bus and places it in service, the state pays a percentage of the value of a new bus each year into the TVF, with the final payment being at the end of the intended life of each bus.
Recent letters to the editor have raised such questions as, “What has the Arlington School District been spending the state’s TVF payments on?” and “Why are more funds needed?” These are great questions.
The state, through the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI), has been authorized by the Legislature to provide funding to replace school buses. OSPI is not authorized to provide funding for additional buses needed for growth. Enrollment in the Arlington School District has steadily increased for the last two decades, from 3,334 full-time equivalent students in the 1990-91 school year to 5,109 FTE this past school year. This is an increase of 53 percent. During this period of rapid growth, the district needed to expand our school facilities and increase the size of our bus fleet to accommodate the influx of new families moving to our community. The need for facilities was addressed in 2000 with a voter approved bond that resulted in the construction of a much larger high school and additional middle and elementary schools.
Instead of asking voters to fund additional buses at the same time as new facilities, the district used the TVF funds to expand its fleet with additional buses and began deferring bus replacement. For several years, TVF funds were leveraged using low-interest rate loans so that buses could be purchased to keep up with our growing enrollment. In addition, several used buses were purchased to meet the increased demand. These buses are from other state school districts that operated the buses through their entire expected lifespan. This strategy resulted in deferring the need to run a bus replacement levy for many years. Below is a synopsis of how our TVF funds have been used for the past five school years.
Over the past five school years, from 2010-2015, a total of $851,036 was spent on loan payments for previously purchased buses. During the 2013-14 school year, $397,300 was spent to purchase three new buses. In the 2014-15 school year, $190,093 was spent on two new and two used buses. Over the five-year period, $1,438,429 has been spent. During the same five year period the District received $1,259,119 from OSPI. The current balance of our TVF is $50,659. Our final bus payment will be made in October 2015 in the amount of $59,026.
Another concern raised was the cost of new buses. OSPI solicits bids from bus vendors each year. For the current school year, districts can choose from between three to six manufacturers depending on the type of bus being purchased. The Arlington School District typically purchases three types of buses from the bid: D84RE, A34G and A34GL. These translate into 84 passenger rear engine buses and 34 passenger buses with or without wheelchair lifts. These buses don’t include options such as security cameras, and prices don’t include sales tax. Without any options and including our 8.8 percent sales tax, small buses costs a minimum of $53,002, small wheelchair buses cost $57,179.84 and large buses are $121,856. With minimal options, our last large bus cost $128,598 and our most recent small bus cost $57,652.
TVF funds and transportation levy funds can only be used to purchase school buses. Funding the two-year transportation levy on the Feb. 10 ballot will provide for safer, more efficient and less polluting school buses for Arlington’s children and will restore the financial health of the district’s TVF, so that in the future buses can be replaced at the end of their intended lifespan.
Sidney M. Logan is the executive director of operations for Arlington Public Schools.
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