BOE Opens Bids for New Buses

At its January 12th meeting, the Fannin County Board of Education heard plans to acquire new buses this year. In his monthly report, Transportation Director Benny Long presented a plan to open bids for four new school buses. According to the invitation to bid, provided by Long, bid for four new type C 72 passenger school buses will be taken until February 7, 2012 at 10:00 A.M.

Long said that the approximate price of this type of new school bus is $80,000. When asked how the County will pay for the buses, Long said that the County will use SPLOST (Special Option Sales Tax) money for the purchases.

As of October 2011 SPLOST was at $277,384.46, down 3.8 percent from the previous year and down from $331, 068.13 in September 2011. Superintendent Mark Henson said the diminished figure is a result of a catch-up period in the cycle and that the County is on-track to hit the $3 million mark by the end of next year.

In a conversation with FYN, Long said after all is said and done that the County is likely to receive the new buses by the summer.