BAINBRIDGE ISLAND – Two new 70-passenger buses will arrive in time for the 2014-15 school year and another will arrive the following school year after the Bainbridge Island School District announced it received a $90,000 state grant to purchase the buses at Thursday’s school board meeting.
Cami Dombkowski, the district’s human resources director, told the board that she was initially expecting to receive a grant of about $40,000 from the state. Dombkowski said the state wanted to get all of the district’s buses that were from 1988 or older off the road, including a 1978 bus.
Dombkowski said the district will use the grant to help buy two $144,000 buses this year. Bainbridge Island School District has 30 buses total in its fleet. After the purchase of the new buses, the oldest bus that will remain in the fleet will be a 90-passenger bus built in 1985 that the district will continue to use for long trips.