AUSTIN, Texas — It has been a hot start to the school year for Austin ISD students. Approximately 8,000 AISD students board school buses with no air conditioning.
According to district officials, if voters pass the proposed school bond in the upcoming November election, 173 school buses will be replaced.
Kris Hafezizadeh, AISD's executive director of transportation, said riding a bus with no air conditioning can be uncomfortable.
"When we don't have AC, then you roll the windows down," Hafezizadeh said. "We have 550 buses. Seventy percent of our total fleet have air conditioning, which includes 100% of our special needs buses that always had air conditioning."
If the bond passes, 100% of the fleet will have air conditioning.
Austin ISD's historic $2.44 billion bond proposal is about the same amount as the district's four most recent bonds combined.
The 2022 bond is divided into three propositions:
- Proposition A: General Purpose ($2,316,025,000)
- Proposition B: Technology ($75,541,000)
- Proposition C: Stadiums & Athletic Complexes ($47,434,000)
New buses are only a small part of the bond. If voters pass it, nearly $25.74 million of the proposed bond funding in Proposition A would be used to buy new buses.
"When we purchase new buses, they all come with the air conditioning, lap, shoulder belts, digital cameras and, of course, lower emission standards," Hafezizadeh said.
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