In a presentation before the School Committee on August 17, Transportation Manager Jeff Tatro said that bus maintenance is becoming increasingly costly for the department, causing it to go over its budget during the previous fiscal year, which ended on June 30.

The School Committee requested an update from Tatro to check in with the department before school begins on August 31.

Tatro reported that the rates of school bus failures during state inspections continue to hover between 25% and 30% due to the condition of the district's fleet.

“We continue making sure our vehicles are safe at all times,” Tatro said. “We do have an aging fleet of vehicles. That's no secret.”

Failures can be caused by anything from a cracked mirror to insufficient or uneven tread on a tire. If a bus fails an inspection, it is repaired by district mechanics, reinspected, and then given its passing inspection sticker on the same day. Buses are taken out of service for major repairs that usually cannot be completed on-the-spot.

To reduce the rate of failure and save the district money on repairs, Tatro said he recommends the town lease 20 new buses.

“Unless you get a modernized fleet, [the 25% to 30% failure rate] is what you're going to be dealing with?” School Committee member Geoff Swett asked.

"Yes," Tatro responded. He estimated that obtaining 20 new buses could reduce the failure rate by 15%.

The cost of repairs along with increases in gas and labor costs caused the department to go over its budget by more than $180,000, Tatro and Superintendent Dr. Barry Rabinovitch explained.

From August 2010 to August 2011 thus far, 13 buses underwent repairs in excess of $3,000, Tatro reported. More than $15,000 went into one 2005 bus, with two other buses receiving repairs costing more than $7,000.

The department also had to accommodate a deficit of $50,000 from the previous year because it had to complete state-mandated repairs to the frames of some of the older vehicles, said Rabinovitch.

Rabinovitch said the transportation budget allocated last year by the town was not adequate. “We knew we were underfunded by the budget that was appropriated," he said.

Some money will be saved this year because the district purchased a vehicle that will transport students who need to attend the Schwartz Center for Children in Dartmouth, said Tatro. The district previously had to pay an outside company for that purpose.

Rabinovitch, Tatro, Town Administrator Mark Andrews, and the town's Capital Planning Committee have had discussions about ways to purchase new vehicles, Rabinovitch said. Any purchase or lease would have to go before Town Meeting for approval.

“It's important that we keep bus replacement front and center," School Committee member Rhonda Veugen stressed.

School Committee Chair Kenneth Fontes agreed: “The meetings need to continue with Capital Planning, the town administrator, and the superintendent so that that this doesn't fall on deaf ears."