Bianca Moorman / The Meridian Star Tim Moore, transportation director for the Lauderdale County School District, stands next to one of the district's buses. The district approved purchase of three new buses.

Some Lauderdale County school students could be riding in new buses before  the end of the school year.

The district approved the purchase of three new school buses Thursday during a  board meeting. The district will buy two regular buses and one special education bus at a cost of $77,000 each. 

The new buses may be on the road as soon as January.

Tim Moore, transportation director for the district, said the buses will have cameras in the front, center and the back to provide safety for students and bus drivers. The buses will also have white tops to keep them cool. The two regular buses will not have seatbelts, but the the special education bus will. 

The district is working on updating its fleet to replace older vehicles, Moore said. 

“We need new buses,” he said. “We have a fleet that is aging.” 

The process of purchasing buses involves getting quotes and gaining approval from the school board and the Mississippi Department of Education. After that process is complete, the district can order the buses, Moore said. 

Moore said adding the new buses will not affect the 96 bus routes throughout the district. Older buses will slowly be replaced with the new ones, he said. 

Kelvin Jackson, president of the school board, said buying the buses will help the district be more efficient with limited resources.

District seeks substitute bus drivers

Moore said the district is also looking for substitute bus drivers to fill in for full-time drivers. Because the position is part-time, there are no benefits, he said. 

To be certified as bus driver, applicants must have a class B commercial license, pass an air breaks test, passenger endorsement certification and a school bus endorsement certification, according to Moore.

The applicant has to pass those tests before the Mississippi Highway Patrol issues a commercial driver’s license permit. After a 14-day waiting period, the applicant can take the road test to drive.

After that, Moore said, the district sends applicants to a three-day driving school, which includes a driving and general knowledge test before a real license is issued. Moore said applicants will get a local bus card that can be used in the state of Mississippi.

Interested applicants can call 601-485-8860 for more information.