Kimball school board approves bus repairs

The Kimball school board approved bus repairs at its monthly meeting held Monday.

The school bus in question is the large white one and sustained damage when it was run into the concrete base of a light pole. There is some damage to one of the front storage compartments, and as a result, paint damage as well. Due to the nature of the damage, the labor is going to be rather intense. Since it is a large bus, local body shops will not do the work. Body shops in the area referred the school district to Floyd’s Truck Center, Inc., in Sidney.

Floyd’s provided an estimate of about $5,000 to complete the work on the bus.

The board discussed getting additional estimates, however, in order to get more estimates the bus would have to be taken to North Platte or Denver since no smaller shops want to take on a bus. Even if they did find a cheaper bid, they would still have to pay for gas for the bus to travel there and a driver to take the bus out. The board eventually voted to have the work done at Floyd’s.

The board also discussed the need for a new school resource officer. Mary Lynch Elementary School Principal Mike Mitchell expressed how the school has been feeling the absence of the SRO in the last few months, since the school district has not had one. The grant the district used to pay for the SRO has been put on hold until it can find a new SRO. The board will have to conduct interviews once they have candidates for the position.

The meeting wrapped up after the approval of the 2015-2016 school schedule.

The next school board meeting will be held at 6 p.m. on March 9.