Montana Code 20-10-148. Cost-effectiveness analysis required before purchase of small school bus
20-10-148. Cost-effectiveness analysis required before purchase of small school bus. The trustees of a district may not purchase and operate a school bus as defined in 20-10-101(5)(a)(ii) until the trustees have:
Terms Used In Montana Code 20-10-148
- Bus route: means a route approved by the board of trustees of a school district and by the county transportation committee. See Montana Code 20-10-101
- Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
- district: means the territory, regardless of county boundaries, organized under the provisions of this title to provide public educational services under the jurisdiction of the trustees prescribed by this title. See Montana Code 20-6-101
- school: means an institution for the teaching of children that is established and maintained under the laws of the state of Montana at public expense. See Montana Code 20-6-501
- School bus: means , except as provided in subsection (5)(b), any motor vehicle that complies with the bus standards established by the board of public education as verified by the department of justice's semiannual inspection of school buses and the superintendent of public instruction and:
(i)is owned by a district or other public agency and operated for the transportation of pupils to or from school or owned by a carrier under contract with a district or public agency to provide transportation of pupils to or from school; or
(ii)is district-owned, is designed to carry 10 or fewer passengers, has an overall safety rating of five stars from the national highway traffic safety administration at the time of purchase, and is insured in accordance with minimum coverage requirements set forth in 20-10-109. See Montana Code 20-10-101
- Trustees: means the governing board of a district. See Montana Code 20-1-101
(1)conducted an analysis of the costs associated with purchase and operation of the school bus compared to the costs associated with purchase or contract and operation of a school bus designed to carry more than 10 passengers; and
(2)adopted a written finding that the purchase and operation of a school bus as defined in 20-10-101(5)(a)(ii) is the most cost-effective means of transporting eligible transportees on the bus route or routes to which the school bus will be assigned.