Centralia High School will operate its own bus fleet for the 2023-24 school year, marking the end of a decades-long relationship with West Bus, which informed the district recently that services will no longer be available. The measure was approved unanimously by the board.
CHS hired a manager and drivers from West to operate the buses providing they pass pre-employment screening.
Superintendent Chuck Lane says the cost of providing their own bus service will be about $400,000 a year.
“We’re going to have 12 brand new buses here in the next 2 weeks. So the service and staff will be the same. There may be some route changes but the same types of services we had before which have been great will remain. We think it’s going to be a great thing for our students.”
Equipment will consist of new, 2024 model buses which will include air conditioning, on a three-year lease. Other details are being finalized. Lane hopes the program will end up being cheaper than the previous busing costs.
Lane also updated the board as to the three construction projects underway or planned at the high school:
“We got some good news on our solar project. The Army Corps of Engineers has pretty much given us the green light to move forward. We can still have the access road on the west side of the project. There isn’t as much concern for the waterway. We are still looking at quarter 4 for the beginning of the project and hopefully having it done sometime later on in the spring. The Annex construction project is still going well. Still waiting on structural steel. It should be here in 12 to 14 days so looking at mid to late October before that would be done.”
Lane says the painting of some of the main campus should be completed Friday.
CHS registration is coming up, and Principal Reid Shipley told the board that the building will be open August 8 and 9 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. for those without computer access to use school equipment to complete the process. He said that the first day for staff is August 16, and the first full day for students is August 17.
The board moved to hire Anggraini Aarons as a full-time cafeteria employee and Gregory Graves as a full-time annex security guard. Those employed for the school’s new bus system were transportation supervisor Jeff Campbell and bus drivers Edward Applegate, Josh Beasley, Dale Clifton, Gary Dersch, Patricia Groom, Joe Shuffett, Shawna Simms, Amanda Spenner, Jennifer Spenner, Donna Robinson, Gayla Ross, and Billy Taylor.