School board approves purchase of diesel school bus for district

ATASCADERO — During Oral Communication from the Public at its regularly scheduled meeting on Tuesday, Feb. 4, the Atascadero Unified School District (AUSD) Board of Trustees was addressed by the Atascadero Middle School (AMS) Robotics Team on travel to an upcoming tournament.

Teachers, parents, and students from the AMS Robotics Team asked the trustees and the district if there was a way to work together so that the students on the team could attend a fully paid-for robotics tournament in Chino Hills, California, on Feb. 15. The team was told by AMS Principal Jeff Spiller that they could not due to school regulations and the team having to leave at 2:30 a.m. to arrive in time for the team to compete. 

“I understand, and I respect [Spiller’s decision]. What I’m asking is that we can leave — can we at least leave the night before and go to our tournament?” stated AMS Robotics After School Teacher Anthoney Hopper.

Hopper then informed his students’ parents of the conversation with an email, which he read to the trustee board. In the letter, he stated that most of the tournaments the students compete in are always four to seven hours away due to AMS’s location. He also stated that multiple parents had already offered to pay for hotel rooms if the team was able to travel the day before the tournament.

“All we need is the school’s permission to still compete in this competition. That’s all we’re looking for,” added Hopper.

Students from the team and parents of students also addressed the trustee board stating how important going to the tournament and seeing all their hard work pay off would be.

“I appreciate you coming here tonight. I can’t give you a definitive answer right now, but I will follow up with Mr. Spiller and look at if there are some other things that we can consider and have some of that dialogue tomorrow,” stated Superintendant Tom Butler at the start of his report. “Then we’ll get back to you, Mr. Hopper, so we can make sure tocommunicate with families in the program.” 

The trustee board also expressed that they were touched by the robotic team’s speeches and that they were very gladthat the program was having such a strong impact on students.

The trustees then approved a date for interviews for their search for a new superintendent. The date proposed was Friday, Feb. 21. The motion was approved unanimously.

Assistant Superintendant of Business Services Kendyl Darnell then brought the possible purchase of a used 2010 Blue Bird All-American diesel school bus to the trustee board. At the last meeting on Tuesday, Jan. 14, the board was given a Transportation Update, and the need to update the current fleet of district vehicles was addressed. 

“We are in need of a used diesel that would be replacing one of our current special education fleet buses that is in need of a motor,” stated Darnell. “The cost to replace the motor is around $60,000. The cost to purchase a new-to-us, used diesel is $49,000. So, the recommendation is to purchase the Blue Bird diesel to replace the current diesel that is off the road. It would be a trade-in at $49,000.”

Trustee Vy Pierce asked if the district knew the mileage on the diesel bus and the length that the bus would last.

“The current mileage is 187,000 miles. A well-maintained diesel bus, realistically a well-maintained diesel motor, can run indefinitely, but buses are expected to last up to 500,000 miles. So it’s got some life left in it for us,” Darnell replied.

The item was approved unanimously. 

The next regularly scheduled AUSD Board of Trustees meeting will be on Tuesday, Feb. 18, at 7 p.m.