The Adel-DeSoto-Minburn School District recently made a large purchase, adding a new 77-passenger school bus to their fleet.

The School Board approved the purchase at their most recent meeting, with Hoglund Bus having the low bid of $101,020. Superintendent Greg Dufoe points out that the new bus meets all the safety specifications now required by Iowa law, which increased the purchase price considerably. “Well, what we did is we followed the rules; the requirements that all new buses purchased come equipped with seatbelts, and this one does. We’re going to work on our policy through guidance with the Department of Ed and the state, and we’ll follow the law. And right now I don’t know that I have a strong opinion on whether it’s a good change or not. So we’re kind of still in evaluation mode in regards to that.”

The money for the new bus will come from the voter-approved Physical Plant and Equipment Levy (PPEL) funds. Dufoe says the District purchases a new bus each year, or sometimes two if they need to replace an old one, which has become a necessity as the District continues to grow. Transportation Director Richard Beechum also mentioned at the meeting that the typical lifespan for a school bus is around 10 years, and he rotates the routes every year to balance the mileage and gravel surface travel each goes through.

To learn more about this and other ADM topics, click the link below to listen to the recent Perry Fareway Let’s Talk Dallas County program with Dufoe.

https://www.raccoonvalleyradio.com/2020/02/12/lets-talk-dallas-county-2-12-2020-greg-dufoe/