Breaking a long tradition of annually updating the fleet, Parkland School District did not purchase any new buses last year due to the tight budget.

For the 2013-14 term, however, 10 new buses will be purchased from Wolfington Body Co., Exton, at a total cost of $886,384.

At the Feb. 19 meeting, the board approved purchase of eight 72-passenger buses at $91,595 each and two 36-passenger buses at $91,595 each and two 36-passenger buses at $88,712 each.

Director of School Services Mark Lapos explained how the decision was made to buy new buses.

"We look through the fleet at age, condition and how much maintenance they take," Lapos said. "Some buses are too old and causing too much maintenance.

"Others are rusting out. We have a very good maintenance garage, but at a certain point the buses start to wear out. We have several with more than 180,000 miles."

Money from the Capital Projects Fund will be used to pay for the buses. Funds from a $10 million bond issue will be available in March.

This transaction was recently undertaken to include school buses along with maintenance and improvement projects at facilities throughout the district.

In other matters, Business Manager John Vignone provided a bit of background on state and federal funding for the 2013-14 term.

"There is one word for the governor's budget – uncertainty," he said.

Although Gov. Tom Corbett wants to provide increased funding for education through privatization of state liquor stores, the measure is controversial.

Even if it is instituted, schools would receive no benefit before 2014-15.

State funding for special education, a high cost area with many mandates, is expected to decrease $16,385.

Vignone said the governor proposed a contingency fund for students requiring high-cost special education services but reduced the amount for the general special ed programs.

Director of Student Services Rob Thornburg reported about 40 percent of Parkland special ed recipients would qualify for the contingency funds, but the amount proposed comes nowhere near covering the costs.

On the plus side, Vignone noted a $248,670 increase in state basic education funding and an additional $72,415 proposed for accountability Block Grants in Corbett's budget.

At the federal level, the issue of sequestration with cuts in everything could impact funding for programs which also help to fund special ed services and personnel.

District Superintendent Richard Sniscak provided a few examples of what to expect as the district continues to reduce expenditures.

The Career Counseling Office will have a reduction in the number of hours it is open for students and parents.

The weight room used for off-season training by student athletes will have its hours reduced.

On the positive side, various booster clubs, the Parent Teacher Organizations, and the PSD Education Foundation are providing some funds for items eliminated in the district budget.