Orangefield ISD has found a way to save the district money and they’re getting help from men who are behind bars.
The Texas Department of Corrections has a program where they refurbish school buses and Orangefield just got their “trial run” back and Superintendent Dr. Stephen Patterson says he’s so impressed it won’t be their last.
“The cost of a brand new bus is almost $100,000,” said Patterson. “These guys can take a bus that is 10-15 years old and make it new again and get another 10 years out of it. They sandblasted, painted, recovered the seats, and added air conditioning. They also did the brakes, transmission, and suspension. The cost was $24,000. That saved us almost $70,000. (The bus in the photo is the bus they refurbished) We’ll still have to replace our older buses but with this program we can buy one and have one refurbished each year.
The district has 22 buses in its fleet.
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