One local school district is on track to replace more than a dozen school buses to adhere to a new state seat belt law and aims to use bond money to pay for it.
Transportation Director Gina Solarzano detailed the district’s fleet and what it would take to either replace or equip vehicles to meet an upcoming deadline.
She spoke to Marble Falls ISD Board of Trustees April 23 during their regular meeting.
“SB 456 is the new legislation that came out that requires us to equip all buses. That includes our multi-function school activity buses and our small buses with three point seat belts,” she said. “That is your lap shoulder seat belt, not just the lap belts anymore.”
SB 456 requires not only safety belts for all passengers but installation of “stop-arm cameras” to capture violations; establishes penalties for drivers who illegally pass stopped school buses; updates maintenance standards for safety; and, in some cases, offers funding for enhanced safety features.
“Prior to this law anything (built) before 2017 had to be equipped unless the board determined that would not be feasible for the district to afford that cost,” Solarzano said. “It’s a pretty hefty add on when you build a bus.” She explained that buses older than 2017 are not eligi- ble for retrofitting
She offered the board a snapshot of the district’s fleet, which operates 28 routes and five additional
special needs routes.
Of 52 school buses in the fleet,14 buses "do not meet compliance,” and 12 of those have aged to the point of needing replacement.
A cost breakdown indicates: two wheelchair buses would cost $168,000 each or a total of $336,000; and their standard 77-passenger buses (12 units) are estimated to cost $159,000 each or a total of $1.9 million to replace.
The total replacement would be $2.22 million, Solarzano shared.
Exceptions to the new law involve the district’s board determining budget constraints or if ret- rofitting buses void the vehicle’s warranty.
“That’s not an option that I think we’re going to lean towards, especially when you see the bond that we have will cover the replacement of the buses that we need to purchase,” she continued.
The district must be in compliance by Sept. 1, 2029.
“We essentially would be on the upper hand on this because we would utilize the bond funds that have already been approved … to replace these buses,” she told board members.
The board voted unanimously to move forward with the purchase of the replacement buses using bond funds from the $172 million bond series approved by voters in May 2025. Solarzano’s recommendation included a multi-year bus purchase schedule and an effort to sell off older buses which can fetch about $1,500 each at auction.
