School Bus Titles No Longer in Town's Name

The town is no longer holding title to the school buses that transport local students.

And that means nearly $36,000 in additional tax revenue.

Michael Purcaro, the director of business and finance for the Board of Education, said the topic came up during the inspection period for school buses.

Department of Motor Vehicles officials informed him - and the bus company, First Student - that the bus titles would now be in the name of the operator.

First Student had just signed new contract with the town.

The contract carries a projected savings of $177,883 on Vernon's share of $781,000, Purcaro said, but the bus company holding the title no longer made the buses exempt from local taxes.

That means the equivalent of $35,817 in additional tax revenue coming into the town, Purcaro said.

The school system did opt to take out a performance bond that cost $12,558, but that is being mostly offset by a $12,000 fuel credit to be received this fiscal year, Purcaro said.

Purcaro said his researched indicated that the town had held the titles to school buses since 1972.

First Student recently won a contract over 11 other bidders and three finalists on a Capital Region Education Council request for proposal with Manchester, Somers, Ellington and Vernon.

The contract went from less than 10 pages to 32 and extra clauses "for accountability and and the ensure the health and safety of our students" are included, Purcaro said.

The contract outlines fines of between $50 and $150 for violations of punctuality, working security cameras and GPS units.

Electronic routing has been made available to parents for the 2012-13 school year, Purcaro said.