Sidney considers purchase of coach bus for activities, trips

Sidney’s Superintendent of Schools Jay Ehler approached the school board on Monday night about going forward with research regarding the purchase of a coach bus for activities and trips.

Leasing a coach bus, as opposed to purchasing one, is cost-prohibitive, according to Ehler.

“We did some research, primarily Mike (Brockhaus, activities director) did research, and checked with Cheyenne, Fort Collins and Denver, and we did find the best company in both Fort Collins and Denver that would work with us,” Ehler said. “However, it was at least $1,000 more to lease, per trip.”

Ehler and Brockhaus researched to determine which company may supply the best coach bus for the money if they were to make a purchase and concluded that Coach Masters of Kearney would be their best option.

“Our next bus purchase would be in 2017 on the (Sidney Public Schools) vehicle replacement cycle,” Ehler said. “However, I think it wouldn’t be a bad idea – because of how this all played out – to consider looking into one, say, for ‘15 or ‘16.”

He recommended that the normal school bus replacement cycle be pushed back a year or two to fit in the purchase of a coach.

“We told Coach Masters what we were looking for and gave them a price range,” he said. “I think we could probably do pretty well with them.”

Coach Masters doesn’t yet have an ideal coach in stock, but the board decided to form a committee to do further research on bus options, service availability and other details. The committee will present their findings to the board if an appropriate coach is located.