CCSD to spend $18 million on new buses

About $18 million in new school buses will soon be bought for Clark County School District students, replacing 50 vehicles beyond repair and adding 75 more to the 1,691-bus fleet next school year.

The School Board approved the requested purchase Thursday.

Buses to be replaced usually have between 250,000 to 300,000 miles and are at the point where a new bus would be cheaper than repairs, which range from bent frames to excessive body damage or defunct engines, which alone cost $20,000 a piece to replace, according to Jon Howard, the district’s director of vehicle maintenance.

“We definitely get our money’s worth out of our buses,” he said.

The district also needs more buses because of the district’s growing enrollment, said Director of Transportation Shannon Evans, noting that 98,000 students currently ride the bus to school and home every day.

The district, fifth-largest in the nation, has a total of about 318,000 students. Bus ridership numbers usually increase by 8 percent annually for special education students and 3 percent for all other students, Evans said.

Growth will call for adding 55 of the small special education buses and 20 long buses, carrying a maximum of 84 students each. To have those buses in time for next fall, the district must order now because of the six-month shipping process, she said.

“We are very conscientious about the equipment we put our students in,” said Evans. “Whether a bus has 5 miles or 250,000 miles, we make sure it’s safe and reliable.”

Contact Trevon Milliard at tmilliard@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0279. Find him on Twitter: @TrevonMilliard.