The Delaware City Schools Board of Education on Wednesday approved the purchase of the district’s first electric bus and signed off on the 2023-2024 school calendar.
During the meeting, which was the last one of the year for the board, members approved the purchase of two new school buses: a $98,885 72-passenger propane conventional school bus and the district’s first electric 72-passenger conventional school bus. The electric bus costs $399,655, but a grant from AEP paid $245,067 towards the bus, leaving the district to pay $154,588.
Director of Facilities and Transportation Jason Sherman said aside from saving on fuel costs, the district is expected to save on maintenance costs as the electric bus runs cleaner. Sherman said maintenance on a conventional bus can add up to $10,000 a year.
The board also approved the calendar for the upcoming 2023-2024 school year.
According to the calendar, the first day of the school year will be Aug. 16, and the fall semester will conclude on Dec. 20. There will be no school on Sept. 4 for Labor Day and on Sept 20 for a teacher in-service day. There will be no school on Sept. 21 and 22 for Jug Days and no school on Oct. 20 for a teacher in-service day.
The spring semester will begin on Jan. 2, and spring break will be March 25-29. There will be no school on Jan. 15 and Feb. 19 for MLK Day and Presidents Day, respectively, as well as no school on Feb. 20 and March 8 for teacher in-service days. The last day of the school year for students will be May 23.
In other board matters, members recognized Treasurer and CFO Melissa Swearingen, who recently achieved a certified administrator of school finance and operations designation from the Association of School Business Officials International.
“This credential distinguishes her as a skill professional and demonstrates her commitment to high standards in school business,” Superintendent Heidi Kegley said.
The board then approved two change orders for construction projects at Woodward Elementary School. The two change orders added $1,200 and $900 to contracts from Weatherproofing Technologies, Inc. for additional roof work at the school.
The board also approved several employment changes, including accepting the resignation of Valerie Matthews, a School-Aged-Child-Care (SACC) program assistant at Schultz Elementary; Brett Rosen, an educational assistant at Hayes High School; Jillian Russell, an educational assistant at Schultz; and Donna Wood, a custodian at Dempsey Middle School.
Additionally, the board approved the employment of Ao Lin, a speech language pathologist at Schultz and Woodward.
The board will meet next for its organizational meeting at 6 p.m. Jan. 9.
