Hillsboro replaces bus, computers for $163,000
Staff writer
Hillsboro school board approved two large purchases Monday — over $113,000 for a new 65-passenger bus with air conditioning, and almost $50,000 for 160 Chromebook computers and maintenance for Hillsboro High School.
“Our kids are in our buses a long time, so that’s important to us,” board member Jared Jost said.
Installing seatbelts, which would cost $150 for each bench on the bus, was discussed but not acted on. The board acknowledged that seatbelts might become mandatory in the future.
“Unfortunately, with traffic regulations, you need data to make those changes,” board member Jessey Hiebert said. “And to get that data, you need tragedy.”
Purchase of a new 10-person transit van had been accounted for in the budget, but Jost discovered that governmental and school entities needed to place orders for vans in January. The school may not be able to order a new van until June or July of 2023.
“I might come back in a month or two with a plan for that,” Jost said.
He also suggested purchasing a new district office vehicle. No action was recommended.
The Chromebook purchase had been planned when the school bought its first round of Chromebook computers in 2019. Chromebooks usually are viable for five years before they no longer update. The school plans to change them on a four-year rotation.
Only two computers have broken — both during quarantine, when kids were allowed to take school computers home for the first time.
The old Chromebooks will be kept as backups, sold, or donated.