Living Sky School Division's new bus garage and additional office space under construction on the division office site in North Battleford should be done very close to its original completion date early in the new year.
It may be a week or two behind, Chief Financial Officer Ray Kopera told the division board at its latest meeting, Sept. 14.
The work is going well, and the staff are getting excited, said Kopera.
The two phase construction project includes a bus/maintenance facility and office addition. The anticipated completion date for the construction project is January, 2012 for the office addition and February, 2012 for the bus/maintenance facility.
Planning for the facility began in 2007 and the tenders were approved by the board in June of this year.
The total estimated cost for the project is $4.7 million.
The facility will see the consolidation of a number of departments to one location and thereby reduce the overall operating expenditures. The bus facility will provide space for bus inspections and all major service and repairs to all Living Sky School Division owned buses.
The facilities department will also be located in the new building, which will include plumbing, electrical, carpentry and mechanical areas that support the maintenance of the division's schools. This department was formerly located at North Battleford Comprehensive High School.
Kopera told council SaskPower, the division's tenant for east side of the existing building, is looking for a new location. They are on a month by month lease, he said.
In other business, Kopera told the board the comments they've had about only a few heads seen in large buses has to do with the fact larger buses are cheaper to run and maintain than smaller ones. The latest buses they've looked at purchasing are only $300 more for 36 seats than 24 seats. Having larger buses also meets the division's needs for field trips and other excursions, he indicated.
On a daily basis the division transports 3,100 students on 124 routes and travels 20,000 kilometres. In 2009-10 the division purchased 13 new and used buses to continue with the bus replacement program currently set at 10 years for rural routes.
In other busing issues, the board decided not to approve two requests for changes in bus routes that came in recently.
One request was from a family located in another division who would like bus service to their rural home to accommodate their decision to send their child to a Living Sky school instead of the school in their area.
In another request, a rural family who moved recently, finding themselves in a different school catchment area, requested bus service to their old school from their new home.
In both cases, said Kopera, the parents are now delivering their students to a "safe haven" where their children can board the bus to their desired schools.
Board members decided making exceptions to the rules, in effect, creating grey areas, will only complicate the already complicated process of establishing the most appropriate bus routes.
Bus routes are reviewed annually, said Kopera, and, when practical, changes can be made then.
