New school bus needed in Dickinson: School board approves grant requesting more than $80K each from Stark, Dunn counties

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In an effort to help defer the cost of a new bus and fees to transportation contractor Harlow’s Bus Service, Dickinson Public School Board is asking Dunn and Stark counties for more than $80,000 each.

DPSB unanimously approved grant applications to be sent to each county auditor at its regular meeting at the Central Administration Building on Tuesday evening.

“With both of these, we’re showing our increase in contracting busing, but we’re asking for the cost of a bus because we will be replacing a route bus this year, and wear and tear with oil traffic and all of those things is where the need is,” Assistant Superintendent Vince Reep said.

The Gross Production Tax Infrastructure Fund is money that is given directly to counties, Reep said.

DPS received $12,800 from Dunn County and $48,000 from Stark County through the GPT Infrastructure Fund last year, Reep said.

Board President Kris Fehr asked Reep why the requested amounts match this year when they did not match last year.

“We’re asking that they give us as much as they can for another bus,” he said.

The estimated cost for a new bus and increases in Harlow’s service fee is $343,500, according to the grant application.

“Dickinson Public Schools has experienced several transportation related costs due to increased traffic, road conditions, and energy boom related activities,” Reep wrote in the application. “We will need to purchase (replace) another bus this year and our costs for rural and activity busing have increased by 13 percent due to the shortage of bus drivers and an increase in our contract with Harlow’s for activity drivers. We are also exploring in-city busing because of energy boom growth within the city. We have many parents who are demanding in-city busing options.”

Fehr will sign the applications, which are due to county auditors by Tuesday.

In other news

DPSB unanimously approved the hiring of a new English language learner position, which it has been advertising.

“We have doubled in size and our needs and the budget committee, when we met, it was a no-brainer for us that we need to add this additional slot,” board member Leslie Ross said.

Tags: dickinson public school board, stark county, dunn county, oil, news, bus, funding