Salem-Keizer School District
technicians have all the workspace they need in this new $34 million facility.
The department also added an administrator for the new facility, to join the one at the original Hawthorne building, as well as a fleet manager, who also counts as an administrator. The district also closed several satellite parking lots and consolidated the buses to one of the two current facilities. The Gaffin facility features new computer-operat- ed inground lifts, which Crockett said will benefit the service of all other district vehicles his department maintains. It also has improved lighting from new instal- lations and built-in natural light. “Instead of being the dungeon, it’s probably the bright- est space in the in the building,” Crockett said, adding
that the other building is much darker. “The old facility was built some of it in the 1960s, some of it in the 1980s. And apparently, we didn’t believe in light at that time. ”Salem-Keizer paid for the new facility with special financing that does not require a tax levy or voter approv- al. The “Full Faith and Credit Obligation” bonds included another $26 million for new school buses” but left the dis- trict with $9.6 million to pay out of its own general fund obligations, Crockett explained. “It’s not budget cuts, but we do have to account for it in our annual budget going forward to aid in paying of the loan.” Other funding for the loan includes 70-percent reim- bursement from the Oregon Department of Education reimbur State School Fund (payable over 25 years for the building and 10 years for the new buses), the sale of a school site that the district was no longer using, the Volk- swagen Mitigation Trust Fund, and smaller state grants. The new facility also features touchless, high-pressure
bus and undercarriage washes. There is a new cool- ing and heating system, ergonomic workstations, and enhanced security via badge access. Crockett added that GPS as well as Wi-Fi hotpots are installed throughout the fleet, which will assist with product installs and with maintenance service. ●
28 School Transportation News • AUGUST 2023
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