Two new 71-passenger school buses are on order following action June 26 by directors of the Gasconade County R-2 School District.

Directors voted 6-0 to purchase two new Thomas buses from MidWest Bus Sales in Bonner Springs, Kan., following a brief discussion on their options after receiving three bids on new units and three quotes for used buses.

MidWest Bus Sales quoted the buses at $139,162 per bus for the Thomas machines.

Central States, which quoted $138,990 per unit, was offering BlueBird buses. MidWest Transit quoted the district $139,942 per unit for International buses.

Masters bid two used 2023 buses, one a BlueBird and the other an International, for $104,900 each. A used 2021 International from Masters was quoted at $87,900.

Gary Pohlmann, the district’s transportation director, told directors that used buses typically come from lease programs where buses are driven from 20,000 to 40,000 miles and then turned back in to the leasing agency. Pohlmann told directors he “doesn’t want to give that much mileage” away when acquiring buses —sometime up to two years on the life of a bus.

He said the R-2 district typically puts 200,000 miles on  bus before they are cycled out of the rotation.

“They’re pushing 10- to 12-years-old” when the district replaces a bus, he told them. “They take a beating,” he added noting the many miles of gravel roads they travel. Pohlmann also noted the buses being ordered are for delivery in the 2024-25 billing cycle.

“The ones being ordered this year are for delivery a year away,” Pohlmann told the board noting he’s been told the production schedule for bus deliveries is 360 to 390 days from when they are ordered.

And, he said, although the price for the Thomas units is $172 higher than the other two comparable bids for new units, half their current fleet of buses are Thomas brands.

One feature the district’s drivers and maintenance staff liked when comparing the Thomas and BlueBird buses was the Thomas units have a lower hood structure and are easier to open and close when making routine inspections and servicing.

The board also approved a request from the transportation department to purchase a four-post mobile lift unit for the bus barn. Gray Manufacturing quoted the wireless, portable unit for $43,359. Six companies bid a variety of units including stationary four-post units.

A note accompanying the bid cited the “totally wireless” and “portable” aspects of the unit as reasons for accepting the Gray Manufacturing bid. Three other firms had bid the mobile lifts for $37,975.59, $45,420, and $67,088.42. Stationary lifts were priced by four of the six firms from $32,145.17 to $57,248.

Directors also awarded a $4,500 contract to Gruenloh Excavating to backfill around the new parking lot behind the Administrative Building and bring it to a finished grade. The bid included a provision for an additional $100 per load of materials removed from the site, or brought in to the site, to complete the project.

Directors also approved a propane gas bid from Boland Energy for the 2023-24 school year at the quoted price of $1.49 per gallon. Lock’s Mill Propane quoted the district $1.49 a gallon but had the time-frame from Oct. 1, 2023, through April 30, 2024 listed under “considerations.”

MFA Oil bid the fuel at $1.69 a gallon and Peterson Oil, Co., bid propane for $1.75 a gallon based on an estimated use of 10,0000 gallons. The award was based on Boland’s “positive prior experience, low end of price range, and no considerations,” administrators told board members.

Directors also authorized the administrators to purchase a staff travel vehicle for use by groups to attend conferences. The motion allows administration personnel to put in an order for a vehicle such as a multiple passenger van for up to $75,000.