Starting next year, USD 257 employees will spend more time driving buses into Iola after having moved its bus storage operation outside of town.
On Thursday, the district moved all of its buses south of Iola city limits.
The district had been storing its buses on a property owned by Ron Boren, proprietor of Boren Roofing. The rent on the property had been $200 per month. That price shot up when Boren asked the district to start paying $800 per month.
“I’ve been renting that property for under market value,” Boren said. “I just wanted to get what was fair.”
When contacted, Scott Stanley, director of operations in the transportation office of USD 257, referred all comment on the matter to USD 257 Superintendent Brian Pekarek.
According to Pekarek, the main reason the district moved the buses had little to do with rent and more to do with an opportunity outside of town.
“We had a person who owns a piece of property out near where the county stores its equipment for keeping streets clear during the winter,” Pekarek said. “We knew that those roads out there would be kept clear so they can do their work so it means our buses can get out when we need them.”
The new lot is also a great deal larger according to Pekarek, which will allow the district to more easily handle the maintenance of their current fleet. The board of education will vote at the end of July to approve the acquisition of the property from its current owner. The purchase is seen as a long term investment by the district. Preliminary plans to improve the land, once acquired, are on the mind of district planners.
“We’ll be thinking about building things like a workshop and things like that out there,” Pekarek said. “I think it’s going to be a better situation for us all around.”
