Last year, South Carolina, in a roundabout way, put a bandage on its aging fleet by purchasing some used buses, but now, with 2011 on the horizon, what will the new governor-elect do for a more permanent fix?
As an editorial in The Herald pointed out, some of the state’s school buses date back to 1986, and more than 60 percent of its fleet is at least 16 years old. Those numbers don’t jive too well with the state’s annual replacement cycle which was approved by the General Assembly in 2007.
Even those who’ve held high positions within the state are admitting there is a problem. Outgoing Superintendent of Education Jim Rex called the state’s buses the “oldest bus fleet in America right now.” During an interview with The Herald, Rex stated that he didn’t understand how a system as efficient as the state’s was not being rewarded.
“We’re being punished because the Legislature has not chosen to put money back in the system. So we have these old buses. In the winter when it’s cold, you tend to see the consequences of those old buses more dramatically. It’s an observable, tangible consequence of having an underfunded public school system. There are other consequences that are probably more severe and consequential. But you see it. You see it on a Friday morning at 7 a.m. when the bus doesn’t show up or a child comes to school late.”
Most within the state are looking to see if Governor-Elect Nikki Haley will keep to her promise of privatizing school bus service in the state. Only time will tell.
