Director of Schools Mark Willoughby announced that the Dekalb County school system may consider the purchase of an electric-powered school bus at Thursday night's school board meeting.
The bus, manufactured by a British-based company, would reportedly save a great deal of fuel and maintenance costs.
Willoughby said that he and Transportation Supervisor Jimmy Sprague will meet with a representative of the company that manufactures electric buses next week to discuss the possibility of purchase.
Sprague told the Review Friday that if the purchase is made, DeKalb County would be the first school system in Tennessee to go the electric route.
The school system is due to buy a bus to transport special-needs students,  but a normal vehicle costs upward of $100,000, while the county may be able to get into an electric bus at a fraction of that cost.
“With grants and funding from the state we can get one of the electric busses for about $15,000, whereas a regular bus costs about $100,000,” Sprague shared. “It’s a win-win situation.”
Not only would fuel and maintenance costs drop substantially with an electric bus, according to Sprague damage to the environment would be reduced to nearly nothing as well.
“There’s no fuel, no emissions, no carbon footprint,” he said. “It would eliminate oil changes and transmission service.”
Fuel savings would also be substantial with the electric vehicle.
“Just one electric bus in our fleet would save 30 gallons of fuel per day.” Sprague told the Review. “The battery pack that we would use in Tennessee goes 120 miles per day on a charge, and take six hours to recharge.”
The bus is said to be even more efficient under stop-and-go driving conditions, and would be charged with a simple three-phase plug, but a solar charging station that the manufacturer has on the drawing board could cut costs even further.
“Another big plus is that the bus charges while stopping,” Sprague said. “That not only means that it goes farther on a charge during stop-and-go driving, it also cuts down on brake maintenance. We should get three times the brake life we get with a normal bus.”
“The electric bus is charged with a three-phase 220-volt plug. They also have a solar charging station in the works that would cut charging costs to absolutely nothing,” he continued.
According to Sprague, the bus is made by a reputable company with many years experience in the electric-vehicle field, and should be on the cutting-edge of technology.
“The bus is made by a company called Smith Electric, who have been manufacturing electric cargo vans in the United Kingdom for more than 30 years, so the technology is really up to date,” he said.
“This is the future of people transportation, and I look forward to being the first school system in Tennessee to have one,” Sprague concluded.
According to Willoughby, the manufacturer has its own grant writers and will gladly help in writing the grant for the school system if the project is approved.
In other board business, the members adopted a resolution of appreciation honoring Professional Services Staff, including school nurses, guidance counselors, school resource officers, psychologists, speech therapists, and others.
Board chairman Charles Robinson read the following resolution:
Whereas, the DeKalb County School System is dedicated to showing appreciation for our special services staff members that include guidance counselors, librarians, school nurses, school resource officers, school psychologists, speech and hearing specialists, and others;
Whereas, the special services staff members in DeKalb County Schools are responsible for the safety and welfare of our students;
Whereas, this group of professionals serve a very important role in providing a variety of special services to our students on a daily basis;
Whereas the DeKalb County Board of Education wishes to honor the special services staff members for their commitment and loyalty to their students and schools.
Now, therefore, be it resolved that the Board of Education hereby establishes March 15 as Special Services Staff Appreciation Day in all DeKalb County Schools; and
Be it further resolved that the Board of Education expresses our appreciation to all the school employees who provide special services in our school system. We encourage each school and community to recognize these individuals for their role in the success of our school system.
Meanwhile, School Nutrition Supervisor Stephanie Walker told the board that the school system is participating in a contest with other school districts through the Fuel up to Play 60 initiative this month in an attempt to get more students to participate in the school breakfast program.
According to Walker, if your children eat every day during the month of March and their school wins the contest, their name will be put into a drawing for two 2012-2013 Tennessee Titans Tickets.
Children who eat everyday for a week will be eligible for a drawing for free items each Friday during the month of March.
Willoughby also updated the board on personnel changes since the last meeting.
Those employed since the last meeting include Brenda Bandy, who was hired as a special education assistant at Smithville Elementary School, then transferred to DCHS, Tammy Ferrell, as a custodian at DeKalb Middle School, Jeremy Haas, as a custodian at DeKalb Middle School, Gary Caplinger, as a teacher at DCHS and Debra Londan, as a substitute bus assistant
Tendering resignations last month were J. Annette Davis, a Special Education Assistant DCHS and Charles Cantrell, a custodian at DeKalb Middle School.