More than 3,200 students are transported to school each day, including 2,700 aboard Levittown buses. According to data from the 2013-14 school year, 112 children at East Broadway School and 89 at Salk Middle School were on routes contracted to private companies.

Another benefit to bringing the routes back in-house, McDonald said, would be having drivers more familiar with the area. “A lot of our drivers are Levittown residents,” she said. “They do take a lot of pride in what they do.”

McDonald explained that the district would continue to contract out bus service for students attending private, parochial and specialized schools out of the area. She said that in many of those cases, bus companies will pick up children from several surrounding districts going to the same school, which is more cost efficient, as Levittown pays per child.

“Children going to Levittown schools would all be on Levittown buses,” McDonald said. “When you’re in your own community, this is when the cost savings is best.”

Bus purchases planned

As part of the 2014-15 budget approved by voters in May, the district will be purchasing four additional buses. Three will be regular large 66-passenger yellow buses, while the other will be a large wheelchair bus that can hold up to six students.

While the average lifespan of a large bus is about 10 years, the district still has some from 1999 and 2000 that are still in use, though mostly as reserves. “A majority of the older buses are used as spares because of the extensive mileage,” Transportation Supervisor Dajuana Reeves said.

She noted that at least three buses a day are out of service for routine maintenance and repairs, and sometimes more during Department of Transportation inspections.

The combined cost for the three regular buses will be about $326,000, while the wheelchair bus will cost about $115,000. Reeves said it is important to have a spare wheelchair bus, to ensure that the transportation needs of disabled students will always be met.