BOE to discuss partnership for defective bus engines

School leaders said they began an actual warranty procurement process for the 16 warranties in October of 2011 after it discovered that International had increased its warranty price per bus from $1,428 to $4,700.

Assistant Superintendent Jake Grant, who presented the recommendation to the board, said the engines are “problematic” and they have “internal problems.”

“We have had seven failures of buses that we own since March of 2010— one that cost nearly $19,000 to fix,” said Grant. “These have all been covered by either the manufacturer's warranty or an extended warranty the school system purchased in 2010 for the 05-06 model years.”

The school system did budget to purchase the extended warranty for the buses—just as it did for the 2005 and 2006 faulty model engines. However, the warranty increase is about $50,000 over the superintendent’s level for approval.

For the full story, see the Feb. 1 issue of the Barrow Journal.