Amador County – The Amador County Office of Education board of trustees will hold a special meeting Thursday to consider an application for a grant for a school bus replacement program.

The board canceled its regular meeting Wednesday, but set the special meeting, and must meet a Friday deadline for the grant application. The district seeks to replace a 1990 Ford bus used for transporting special education students, with 12 seats and two spaces for wheelchairs. The bus has 414,000 miles and was purchased in 1990, according to documents, and it was driven 1,516 miles last school year.

Barbara Murray, assistant superintendent of business services said in a report to trustees for Thursday’s meeting that the district qualifies for a maximum possible award of $155,000, and “there is no match for this grant.”

She said the district qualifies for the “Small School District and County Office of Education Bus Replacement Program” for the current fiscal year by its average daily attendance, given to any school with fewer than 2,501 students, based on the previous school year’s attendance.

Murray said the award “may include the cost of the bus plus taxes, excluding registration. Recipients will be responsible for paying for specifications that are not standard.” She said where “unique needs occur,” the California Department of Education “may cover some additional options, but awarded agencies should, ‘build’ their buses with the expectation that non-stock options, will be out-of-pocket costs.”

The California Department of Education runs the grant and “after receiving the required quotes, the CDE will notify agencies of their total award.” Murray said the district office has all information required by the grant. The application is due Friday, Jan. 14, and awards will be listed March 1.

The transportation department will build the bus to the district’s required specifications, Murray said, and “if there are additional costs that the grant does not cover, we will bring the item to the board for approval before we proceed with the purchase.”

Murray said staff does “not anticipate a major cost to the county office,” and recommended approval of the application for the bus replacement grant.

The special meeting is 10 a.m. Thursday, Jan. 13 at the district office conference room, at 217 Rex Avenue in Jackson.

Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.