ST. CHARLES, Mo. — St. Charles School District's board of education has agreed to a $575,000 contract for the purchase of a First Student Inc. lot. The district will use the lot — which includes an office and maintenance facility — to house its new bus fleet.

First Student currently provides transportation for the district but will cease to do so next fall. Instead, the district will operate its own fleet of 47 buses, Suburban Journals reports.

School officials believe that having a district-operated fleet will save money in anticipation of major budget cuts in 2011. District Superintendent Randal D. Charles told the news source that, so far, the district had spent only half of what it anticipated to spend on the lot.  

Also, the district cut costs by adjusting its bus schedule to a three-tier system, requiring fewer buses for the same number of routes. New school starting and ending times were set to make the three-tier system possible.