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DOE fleet to see improvement with purchase of 10 new school buses
Governor Togiola Tulafono made the long awaited announcement this week: “Ten new school buses have been ordered to improve the local Department of Education’s bus fleet, just in time for the new school year!”
“We have many students across the Territory that count on our yellow school buses to get to and from school, so it is important that we spend the money to upgrade our fleet,” said Governor Togiola. “I don't think there's anything more worthwhile than the safety of our children. And a new, dependable and safe school bus makes it even better.”
The announcement couldn’t have come at a better time, as the issue with school buses - or the lack thereof - has been highly discussed over the past few months with concerned parents wondering how they can get assurance that their children will receive safe transportation to and from school on a regular schedule throughout the school year.
Last month, Togiola made known his intention that come July, when the Fono reconvenes for its fourth regular session, he will request that funds from the $20-million-dollar loan from the American Samoa Government Employees’ Retirement Fund be utilized to upgrade the DOE’s school bus fleet.
This was in response to complaints from a local resident claiming that kids from his family didn’t attend school for a week because of scheduling problems with school bus transportation.
The Governor said at the time he estimates that at least $1 million will be needed to equip the existing DOE fleet with new buses, as well as spare parts. He noted that some of buses are more than a decade old, making it very hard to get them repaired and back on the road.
(DOE is finding it difficult to repair some of the buses as they were purchased for a much lower price from the US General Service Administration (GSA), which does not provide spare parts, thus making it difficult to find the right off-island company from which the spare parts can be obtained).
Inquiries made by the Fono revealed that of the entire school bus fleet, only 10 buses are fully functional and are in compliance with safety standards, although the DOE main office claims that a total of 12 buses are transporting the territory’s children.
The Governor explained today that the purchase of the 10 new school buses was made as an emergency order “out of great concern with the aging, and currently, inoperable school bus fleet.”
He explained, “The transportation needs and safety of all of our students is a top priority and that’s why we must replace our old bus fleet. We need to get those buses off the road for our children, and replace it with new, safe and reliable buses.”
According to the Governor, the 10 new buses that include four 84-passenger, rear engine mounted models that will be shipped from the West Coast in time for the hosting of the 10th Festival of Pacific Arts on July 20th. The other six new buses will be smaller, configured to carry 44 to 66 passengers and will arrive by the start of the new school year.
Togiola said the Department of Education is also working on the purchase of spare parts to repair the existing school buses which are presently inoperable.
''DOE plans to repair the school buses that are deemed safe to operate and is the appropriate bus size to meet the needs of school transportation operation,” said the Governor.
He concluded, “Repairs and costs of replacement parts have all been addressed by DOE to improve the idle fleet.”
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