At the December meeting of the Perry School Board, Transportation Director Troy Griffith brought the specifications for a new bus before the Board.

Griffith said the specs for the new bus will be similar to what he’s proposed in the past, with one exception. For the new bus he’d like one with an Eaton transmission as opposed to an Allison transmission like they’ve had in the past. He said other school systems have made the switch, and it’s given them around three-and-a-half more miles per gallon. He said the two are around the same price, making it a logical change.

To make things even better, Griffith was able to find an existing bus with all the required specs, which will save the District as much as $10,000 of the price of having one made for them. Superintendent Clark Wicks said the Board was pleased with the possibility of cost savings, particularly on such a big and important purchase. “It’s one of the expenses, or the investment I should say, for our transportation fleet to make sure that we can have kids come into that school safely. (A) bus is close to $100,000, hopefully can get it a little bit less than that, but it’s quite an investment. That is part of our PPEL and one-cent sales.”

The Board approved the specs as presented, and asked Griffith to seek bids for the buses, including the existing one, so they can do their due diligence. Griffith will bring bids back to the Board at the January meeting, though he expects there to be no surprises on the low bid.