By Joseph Goral
Staff Writer
jgoral@mihomepaper.com
 LAKE ORION — The Lake Orion Community Schools Board of Education approved purchasing 10 busses for $1,280,970 during a regular meeting on Nov. 20.
Treasurer Jake Singer made the motion which was supported by Vice President Heather Sinawi.
According to district documents, eight of the busses are conventional Hoekstra busses that can hold 77 passengers and cost $134,742 each. The other two Hoekstra Minotour busses hold 29-30 passengers and cost $101,517 each.
The purchase will be funded through the district’s 2025-2026 sinking fund, and through the Michigan School Business Officials Bus Purchase Program.
“Eight of the busses being purchased are replacing eight that we currently have under lease, which expire at the end of June 2025,” Assistant Superintendent of Business and Finance Andrea Curtis said. “The two (Minotour) busses are being purchased, one, as a replacement of one that we lost in an insurance claim about two years ago. The other will allow us some flexibility in transporting students.”
It will also act as a spare orthopedic bus, according to district documents.
More than 60% of voters across all precincts passed the Replacement Operating Millage in February 2024.
“Under our new rules, we are now allowed to purchase that transportation funding,” Curtis said. “So, thank the community for passing that renewal.”