The Solon Community School District recently purchased two new buses to add to an aging fleet. Over the course of the last two years the district has added a total of four buses with plans to add two additional buses annually. In addition to the bus fleet, vans continue to be added to the transportation fleet to support the growing need for smaller student and staff groups to use for travel to various events throughout the year.
“As the district continues to grow we anticipate a need to expand bus routes as well as employ additional bus drivers to meet the demands of a growing student population,” explained the district’s superintendent, Dr. Davis Eidahl. “We want to ensure we provide our students with safe and efficient transportation to and from school as well as school extracurricular activities.”
The district’s current fleet consists of 19 buses, 7 of which are ten or more years old and becoming a challenge to maintain. “The maintenance costs have stayed consistent over the past several years; however, those costs are steadily increasing because of the age of the buses,” Eidahl shared.
In addition to multiple new buses and vans, the district invested in a dedicated transportation building and site just north of town on Highway 1. That facility will be updated and remodeled using funds approved through the general obligation bonds recently passed on March 7th. A full time mechanic was also hired in January to ensure all district vehicles are safe and always running efficiently with routine and necessary maintenance.
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