08-07-2025
District 204 School Board OKs grant-funded purchase of three wheelchair-accessible school activity buses
Indian Prairie School District 204 is going forward with purchasing three school activity buses with wheelchair lifts, following board approval at Monday's school board meeting.
The total cost of the three buses is expected to be just over $305,000, per a memo about the purchase that was part of Monday's meeting agenda.
It's being paid for with grant funding through the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, a federal law that ensures free appropriate public education to children with disabilities, according to the United States Department of Education's website. Indian Prairie is not using any district funding sources for the purchase, the memo said.
The vehicles are going to be purchased through the state of Illinois' joint purchasing program, per the memo, which allows school districts to award contracts greater than $35,000 for goods or services obtained from another government agency. The district said this will help them secure a price advantage for a larger volume purchase and not receive higher prices through the traditional public bid process.
The purchase will include three new 2025 Chevrolet Trans Tech 8+2 wheelchair passenger Multifunctional School Activity Buses, per the bid proposal attached to Monday's meeting agenda.
Per the bid proposal, the three buses will be purchased from Southern Bus and Mobility, a distributor for wheelchair-accessible vehicles with locations in Illinois and Missouri. The vehicles are estimated to be delivered about nine months after the proposal is signed or purchase order has been received, unless there are parts or supply chain issues.
The purchase was approved unanimously by the board Monday as part of the meeting's consent agenda.
