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HARTINGTON — The Hartington-Newcastle School Board Monday agreed to purchase a new bus and retire an old one.
The board accepted a bid of $127,500 from Bluebird for a new 60-passenger bus. The bus is expected to be delivered in four months, said HNS Supt. A.J. Johnson.
The school district also received a bid from International, but that bid came in about $2,000 higher than the Bluebird bid, Johnson said.
Johnson said the price of busses has really skyrocketed in the last few years. When they purchased a bus just a few years ago, it cost about $35,000 less, he said.
The school currently has eight full-sized route busses in its fleet. The oldest bus in that fleet is a 2008, but that bus recently had a new engine installed. Johnson said one of the 2014 busses in the fleet has been having mechanical issues and will most likely be retired or sold once the new bus arrives.
Also Monday, the board’s Newcastle site committee met prior to the meeting. The committee decided to sell off a portion of land to the northeast of the school. The land will be advertised for sale and sealed bids requested with a minimum bid required in order for the sale to go through.
Johnson said the school had also sought bids for a new heating and cooling system at the Newcastle building, but no bids had been received. He said other contractors would be sought for bids.
High School Principal Corey Ulrich said the first quarter ended Oct. 15. Report cards are now being prepared and will be handed out during parent-teacher conferences this Wednesday.
The ACT test will be given to students on Nov. 3. It was decided to use the Vo-Ag building for testing this year in order to alleviate some of the concerns with disrupting students during the test.
The next Hartington-Newcastle School Board meeting will be Nov. 17, at 5:30 p.m., in the school’s Family and Consumer Science room.
