The Texas Legislature has spent years discussing the best way to keep students safe on their ride to school.
In the 85th Legislative Session, the Senate proposed bill 693 as a solution, but school officials say funding has yet to be made available.
LISD told EverythingLubbock.com that with a fleet of 180 buses, only 40% already have seat belts or are considered “seat belt ready.” To replace the 60% that don’t have the infrastructure for seat belts, they said it will cost $80,000 per bus. That adds up to $9 million total.
In 2009 state lawmakers mandated buses bought after September 2010 be equipped with three-point set belts, but the law couldn’t take effect unless the legislature provided money to reimburse districts.
In 2009, 10 million dollars was approved to help cover the cost, but LISD said that’s just about enough to cover their own fleet. The new bill, co-sponsored by Senator Charles Perry, proposes every new bus purchased in the state must be equipped with seat belts already.
With LISD’s budget of $200 million a year, $9 million spent on transportation for the 10% of students who ride the bus adds up, and the funding issue continues on.
“Obviously there’s not ever enough you can do to make sure students are safe and that is the main priority of our school,” LISD Communications Director Nancy Sharp said, “With a year that there’s significant financial constraint in the Legislature…we know it’s going to be a tall order, but we’re hoping if this is a priority for them, they’ll provide the funding for us to be able to do that.”
The bill has been approved by the Senate Committee and will move toward a vote. It’s scheduled for public hearing in the House tomorrow morning.
