Flour Bluff ISD addresses school bus AC concerns amid budget constraints

About a week into the new school year, the Flour Bluff Independent School District began communicating with parents about transportation challenges — primarily that a few buses in the district's aging fleet don't have functioning air conditioning.

With heat advisories just about every day, keeping students cool on their ride home from school is no easy task.

For the moment, bus drivers are keeping windows rolled down and stocking coolers with water donated by concerned community members whenever a bus air conditioning unit goes out.

But long term, the district needs new buses.

"We've hired a full-time AC technician that does nothing but work on AC for buses, we're applying for grants, we're trying to be creative," said Zach Graf, the district's assistant director of maintenance and operations.

About 1,600 Flour Bluff ISD students are riding the bus this year, though that number is expected to increase as the year continues. Most students spend less than 30 minutes on the bus during a trip to or from school, Graf said, though for longer routes some children might spend 45 minutes on the bus.

Of the district's about 50 school buses, the average age is about 18 years. In 2022-23, the district reported only seven regular buses and three other vehicles that were 5 or less year old. Ten regular buses and one other vehicle was between 6 and 10 years old. But 27 buses and three other vehicles were at least 10 years old.

"Obviously, if you have a 17- to 18-year-old car, you're going to have a ton of problems that are associated with it," Graf said.

Graf said that if there was more money in the budget, the district could afford to replace buses more regularly. But the state has not increased the primary mechanism for funding public schools since 2019.

In Flour Bluff ISD in particular, rising property insurance costs over the past several years have hamstrung the district's budget. In coming years, the district plans to dramatically decrease the property insurance coverage it relies on in the event of a hurricane or disaster in order to afford teacher raises and lessen budget deficits.

A new school bus costs about $150,000.

The district has bought a bus or two about every year, but that isn't enough to replace every old bus in the fleet.

"You need more than one or two a year," Graf said. "You need a year where you buy five. You need a year when you buy 10."

In addition to solving maintenance and air conditioning concerns, purchasing new buses can also help school districts reduce emissions from older diesel-powered vehicles and increase the number of buses equipped with seat belts. Currently, a handful of Flour Bluff ISD's older buses do not have seat belts.

A recent grant award will help the district purchase five new buses this fall. The Flour Bluff ISD board of trustees is expected to approve the purchase this month.

The grant was awarded by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality through its Texas Clean School Bus Program. The grant will allow Flour Bluff ISD to replace five diesel-powered buses made before 2003 with newer lower-emitting gasoline buses.

Through the grant, the state will cover $126,000 per new bus, allowing the school district to afford five school buses for only $96,000 total from local funds.

Beyond air conditioning concerns — about 10 buses in the district didn't have air conditioning as of Wednesday afternoon — other maintenance issues also occur regularly. About 10 buses are currently out of service undergoing repairs.

The district is thankful for the support of community members who have donated about five pallets of water so far, Graf said.

"We're putting ice chests on all those buses that don't have AC right now and giving kids access to cold water in the afternoon when it gets hot," Graf said.

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This article originally appeared on Corpus Christi Caller Times: Flour Bluff ISD faces aging school bus fleet with AC struggles