Levittown to buy more buses

The Levittown School District will be working to replace much of an aging bus fleet over the next two years.

District officials, at the March 16 Board of Education, said they are looking to buy 14 new buses over the next two years. Six would be purchased in the 2016-17 school year, a mix of small and large buses.

Levittown operates its own transportation department which is responsible for most routes that take children to and from schools, as well as for field trips and athletic events. Of its 48 large buses, half were purchased from 1999 to 2002. Only 10 are less than five years old.

There are several years in which the district did not buy any large buses, which hold up to 66 students, including for three straight years from 2008 to 2010.

The district also has 34 small buses, which hold up to 30 students and were all purchased between 2002 and 2014.

William Pastore, the assistant superintendent for business, said the district typically spends $15,000 to $20,000 on maintenance for each of its older buses. “We have buses that chronically get fixed,” he said, noting that most of the repairs are done at the district’s transportation hub on Hunt Road.

Pastore said that for each bus the district buys, it receives about 65 percent of the cost back in the New York state aid the following year. It also counts as a capital expense, which means the district can raise its allowable tax levy increase.

Each new large bus costs about $125,000, while small buses run about $55,000.

The district is in the final stages of creating its proposed $205.6 million budget for next year, a 1.9 percent increase. The tax levy, with the additional bus purchases, would rise by .84 percent, which would be the district’s tax cap.

Enrollment in Nassau County’s third-largest district is expected to remain steady for next year, although small decreases are expected at the two high schools. One extra class could be needed at East Broadway Elementary School, and district officials are considering adding inclusion classes at Lee Road Elementary School for kindergarten and first grade.

PTA recommendations

Laura Brown, of the PTA Advisory Committee, weighed in on the budget. Her report was based on feedback from PTA leaders at Levittown’s 10 schools. She sought additional funding for after-school clubs at the elementary buildings, particularly those that focus on academics and the arts.

She said the proposed keyboarding and computer literacy courses at the elementary and middle schools are welcome and will better prepare students when they receive their tablets in ninth grade. Brown said two large projects that parents would like to see move forward are the renovation of the MacArthur High School auditorium and the addition of a cafeteria at Northside Elementary.