Georgia School District Receives 4 New Special-Needs School Buses

HAMILTON, Ga. — The Harris County School District has received and put into operation four new buses specifically equipped to transport its special-needs students.

The 2021 Blue Bird school buses can carry up to 54 passengers. Additionally, each student has an assigned seat that is customized for the equipment, such as wheelchair and car seat securements, that meets their needs, Cheryl Johnson, the district’s transportation director, told School Bus Fleet.

Having the buses customized for special equipment for these students allows the district to rotate its oldest, non-air-conditioned buses out of the fleet completely, Johnson added in the news release.

Each bus is also outfitted with a four-point camera system, LED interior and exterior lighting, two air-conditioning units, and a Kidde fire suppression system, according to a news release from the district. The district bought the buses from Yancey Bus Sales.

The new buses join the two 2020 Blue Bird special-needs school buses that the district added to the fleet earlier in 2019. (Harris County School District has a total of 11 special-needs buses in its fleet.) In addition, as previously reported, the district’s special-needs school bus drivers and monitors received emergency training in January of last year.

“The transportation department team is very grateful for the new buses which transport our students with special needs,” Johnson said in the news release.

The buses were financed with $93,960 of Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (SPLOST) funds and $308,880 of state bonds from the Georgia Department of Education, according to Dr. Justin Finney, assistant superintendent of business services and technology for the district.

Other SPLOST-funded expenditures at Harris County School District include the construction of a new transportation facility, additional buses, safety and security upgrades at each school, and the purchase of classroom computers and other instructional technology at each school.

The price tag for each bus was $100,710, adding up to a total of $402,840.

“The school district and board of education continue to look for ways to maximize possible funding sources,” Finney added.

The district’s transportation department also recently received a donation of 125 emergency kits from Harris County’s Emergency Management Services (EMS).

The “Stop the Bleed” trauma kits each include a tourniquet, two pairs of nitrile gloves, one pair of trauma shears, gauze, a trauma pad, and an English/Spanish instruction card.

The Georgia Trauma Commission, along with the Georgia Trauma Foundation, the Georgia Society of the American College of Surgeons, and the Georgia Committee on Trauma collaboratively launched the nationwide "Stop the Bleed” campaign in Georgia. The campaign shares knowledge gained by first responders and members of the military with the public to help save lives by stopping uncontrolled bleeding in emergency situations.