Mineola school trustees voted to purchase four or five used buses from Pflugerville ISD Monday.

That district is selling off several buses from 2020 that it no longer needs that were purchased with bond funds. Some 150 buses were bought so the district could transition from a private contractor (Durham) to having bus service operated by the district.

Business manager Keith Sparkman came across the sale and recommended the district spend $255,000 for four buses with less than 40,000 miles each.

Trustees voted to spend up to $300,00 from the district’s fund balance if a deal can be made for five buses.

The lower mileage buses are $65,000 each, while the price drops in $5,000 increments as the mileage increases.

Transportation Director Bill Self said the average age of buses in Mineola’s fleet is 16 years.

The district has some 20-year-old buses that still run well, he added.

Self said diesel-powered buses from the period 2009 to 2013 are giving the district the most maintenance problems, while older and newer models are less troublesome.

The Pflugerville buses are gas powered.

The district’s mechanic will inspect and test drive the buses before they are purchased. Self said they will be put on routes so that older buses in the fleet can be retired.

They will require $2,800 to equip with cameras and radios and changing the name of the district.

The district had planned to buy one to two new buses in the next budget cycle, at a cost of $140,000 for gas or $147,000 to $151,000 each for diesel.

Trustees continued to review the upcoming budget.

Key items not yet known include the district’s property tax values and the cost of property insurance which will include the new primary campus.

Sparkman said those figures should be known prior to the next budget workshop Aug. 8.

Also to be added is the bid for mowing and landscape maintenance at the new campus. Those bids are being tallied.

The district did learn that the modular building at the old primary campus used by Head Start is being donated to the district. The Head Start early childhood program is relocating to the new campus.

Superintendent Cody Mize said one idea for the structure is as a dressing facility for the adjacent softball and baseball fields.

The new primary campus should be ready for teachers to begin moving in next week, though construction has not yet reached the “punch list” stage.

Principals presented changes in the student handbooks. The primary campus has none while the intermediate school had only to change its name.

The middle school offered a clarification that smart watches are included in the ban on student cell phones, plus a minor change in the dress code.

High school is adding an exemption in the spring for freshmen and sophomores to help with attendance.

Trustees approved the Spyglass program to review the district’s technology expenses for possible savings. The company takes half the savings in the first year as its fee and also does the leg work if changes are required to achieve the savings.

The board agreed to add a criminal history self-disclosure form to the new facility use agreement.

The board approved the following staff changes, which get MISD to full staff for the coming year:

New Hires: Lori Holt (6th grade math - Middle School), Steve Patterson (6th grade English language arts - Middle School)

Rhonda LaFon will serve in the fall semester as a long-term substitute for 6th grade science at the Middle School.

Resignations: Mechale Tamez (6th grade science - Middle School), Shelby Watkins (6th grade English language arts - Middle School), and Mirian Mendoza (speech language pathologist assistant - Wood County Special Education Co-Op).