MARION COUNTY, Fla. – Just like you see rising costs at home or in your business, school districts across Central Florida are dealing with inflation and skyrocketing manufacturing costs post-pandemic.
Eric Ostanik, the supervisor of Transportation for Marion County Public Schools, says it now costs about $160,000 to buy a single, standard 77-passenger bus with the specs they require. It’s a more-than 50% increase from 2020, when a new bus would cost the district $105,000.
“Just like in everything else within society, the price of everything is going up,” Ostanik said.
News 6 spoke with Ostanik one-on-one Thursday to understand the challenges he and many other school districts are facing as they deal with rising transportation costs.
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Ostanik said in an ideal world, the district would purchase 10% of their fleet to keep up as aging buses cycle out of use. In Marion County, they would need to purchase about 30 buses to meet that industry standard, but Ostanik says right now they’re averaging about 15 to 18 buses a year that they purchase.
The district would essentially have to double the number of new buses they are buying each year in order to keep up. Because Marion County is such a large district, the warranties do not last half the time they’re designed for.
“We’re the size of Rhode Island basically,” Ostanik said. “The fifth-largest county in the state. So, when you start trying to cover the entire area, your mileage on your bus is just gonna go up quickly.”
Earlier this month, Ostanik told Marion County School Board members about the rising costs as they prepare to head into budgeting.
“This county is growing. Costs are going to continue to grow, and at some point, we won’t be able to get 30 buses a year. We’re going to have to drop to 20, 15, because it’s going to out-cost us, especially at the rate per bus,” said Eric Cummings, who represents District 3.
The Board is also considering adding new technology, such as GPS turn-by-turn navigation, to their fleet. But every enhancement also comes with a cost.
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Ostanik says the money for new buses comes out of the capital outlay, which is the same fund used to build new schools.
Last spring, the Marion County Commission approved an impact fee which will be an added revenue source for the district, but at the workshop, board members said it’s unclear just how much money they will get.
“There are so many people moving to Marion County,” Ostanik said. “We’re building quite a few new schools over the next 10 to 15 years. Two of them are opening next year.”
Ostanik says the staff in his department do their best to keep buses going and extend the life of the fleet.
“It would be a perfect world if we could roll our fleet over every 10 years and get 10% of our fleet, that’s what we’re going to strive to do. But there’s a cost factor there and there’s a lot of pieces of the pie when you’re talking about education,” Ostanik said. “Our superintendent and our school board have already done a great job of finding that funding and helping us improve our fleet, and they’re looking for ways to continue to do that.”
Marion County is not the only county in Central Florida that will have to navigate rising transportation costs. We asked other local districts what they’re experiencing and how they plan to adapt. You can read their responses below:
Orange County
- How many students ride a bus? 51,000 students, or about 50% of eligible riders.
- How many buses are in the district? 1,020 school buses.
- What are the standards for replacing a bus? There is an eight to 10 year replacement cycle.
- How many buses does the district purchase each year? Around 10% of the fleet is replaced annually.
- Is there a budget for it? The capital plan and budget covers the replacement costs. Orange County Public Schools has increased the budget by about 2-3% each year to cover the rising costs.
- What is the current cost to purchase a new school bus? Do you know how that compares to 2020? Current pricing can be found on the Florida Department of Education website under “School Bus Bid Contracts and Documents.”
- Has the district had to make any changes to its budget/purchasing power due to the rising cost of buses? The FDOE works with three approved vendors to set prices.
Osceola County
- How many students ride a bus? 29,000 out of 69,000 total students (around 40%).
- How many buses are in the district? Around 330 school buses serving 260-270 daily bus routes.
- What are the standards for replacing a bus? Buses have a 10-year lifespan. Around 10% of the fleet is replaced annually.
- How many buses does the district purchase each year? This year, 40 buses were purchased. The school board allocates money to transportation for a bus-purchase budget yearly.
- What is the current cost to purchase a new school bus? Do you know how that compares to 2020? Standard buses cost about $170,000 and accessible buses cost about $183,000. In 2020, buses cost around $123,000.
- Has the district had to make any changes to its budget/purchasing power due to the rising cost of buses? Rising costs have not negatively impacted fleet maintenance or replacement. In previous years, fewer buses were purchased at cheaper costs (30 buses in 2020). The school district has been able to purchase more buses, even with the rising costs. The district’s funding for buses has increased despite the rising costs, but there are more factors involved in funding than just rising costs and inflation.
Flagler County
- How many students ride a bus? Over 7,000 students.
- How many buses are in the district? 86 school buses.
- What are the standards for replacing a bus? Warranty, age of bus, safety (specifications that meet state and local regulations compliance), mileage, condition of vehicle and classification (Type-C vehicles).
- How many buses does the district purchase each year? It varies by year, but the district purchases seven new buses.
- What is the current cost to purchase a new school bus? Do you know how that compares to 2020? A school bus currently costs around $152,000 and cost around $110,000 in 2020.
- Has the district had to make any changes to its budget/purchasing power due to the rising cost of buses? Due to the drastic cost increase, the district has not been able to order as many buses as usual.
Sumter County
- How many students ride a bus? 3,815 students.
- How many buses are in the district? 83 school buses.
- What are the standards for replacing a bus? The School Board Policy has a 12-year replacement schedule for all district-owned school buses.
- How many buses does the district purchase each year? Around five to six buses a year.
- What is the current cost to purchase a new school bus? Do you know how that compares to 2020? A school bus currently costs around $147,000-$150,000 for a 77-passenger. It cost around $102,000 for a 65-passenger school bus in 2020.
- Has the district had to make any changes to its budget/purchasing power due to the rising cost of buses? Yes.
Seminole County
- How many students ride a bus? Over 32,000 students.
- How many buses are in the district? 289 school buses.
- What are the standards for replacing a bus? There is a 10-year replacement cycle goal.
- How many buses does the district purchase each year? The district’s five-year average is 21 buses purchased a year. This includes grant-funded bus purchases for alternative fuel grants. Bus purchases are subject to operational budget restrictions.
- What is the current cost to purchase a new school bus? Do you know how that compares to 2020? With safety features included, new bus purchases are approximately $190,000 a bus. In 2020, the cost was $126,000 per bus.
- Has the district had to make any changes to its budget/purchasing power due to the rising cost of buses? To offset the rising cost for bus purchase, the district purchases a 10-year warranty instead of the standard seven-year warranty. It allows the district three extra years of warranty work at a cost of just over $3,000 added onto the bus price.
Lake County
- How many students ride a bus? 17,500 students
- How many buses are in the district? 30 school buses.
- What are the standards for replacing a bus? The district has a 15 year replacement cycle, 12 as a route bus and three as a spare bus.
- How many buses does the district purchase each year? It varies by year, but a minimum of 22 buses are purchased each year.
- What is the current cost to purchase a new school bus? Do you know how that compares to 2020? It currently costs $160,000-165,000 to purchase a bus. In 2020, the cost was $112,000-119,000.
- Has the district had to make any changes to its budget/purchasing power due to the rising cost of buses? The district has have increased the annual purchase budget and reduced the number of buses to purchase.
Volusia County
- How many students ride a bus? 20,322 students, as of October 2024.
- How many buses are in the district? 230 school buses.
- What are the standards for replacing a bus? School buses are replaced every 12 years or at 200,000 miles.
- How many buses does the district purchase each year? The aim is to replace 10% of route buses each year. It is factored into the capital budget.
- What is the current cost to purchase a new school bus? Do you know how that compares to 2020? A school bus costs around $151,000 for a 77 passenger and $158,000 for an accessible bus. Buses in 2020 were around $105,000, and $111,000 in 2021.
- Has the district had to make any changes to its budget/purchasing power due to the rising cost of buses? The district has a five-year plan, revised each year with projected quantities and cost when the new pricing and ordering guide is available from the Department of Education. The district replaces 10% of route buses each year and those numbers can vary based on route needs.
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