243 Frisco ISD buses lack the seat belts a new state rule requires, bond committee hears

Frisco ISD has 243 school buses that do not have the three-point seat belts a new state requirement calls for at every passenger seat and the driver's seat, district staff told the Bond Planning Committee at its second meeting this week.

Fixing them in place is not a simple option, according to the district's account of the meeting. Retrofitting the buses by the Sept. 1, 2029 deadline would void their existing warranties, and many of the buses that could be retrofitted are close to the end of their useful life anyway. A replacement bus costs $188,000.

"As vehicles age, repairs become more frequent and breakdowns happen," said Jerad Castor, the district's director of transportation. He said waiting could also mean paying more for buses later. His department runs about 200 buses a day out of three transportation facilities, carrying roughly 15,000 students on about 1,000 runs.

Closures and the bond

Before the committee got to equipment, Kimberly Smith, deputy superintendent of business and operations, took on the question the district says it hears most: how a district with falling enrollment can still need bond money.

"School closure could very well be part of our future, and we are absolutely having those conversations," Smith said. She added that the district still has 62,000 students in its buildings today and has to keep them safe and properly heated and cooled.

She described possible closures as a separate discussion running alongside the bond work, and said leaders do not intend to fund a major renovation at a school that might later close.

Devices, uniforms and weight rooms

Chief Technology Officer Cheryl McDonald walked members through device and network needs. She said state testing requirements for grades 3 through 12 will triple between 2026-27 and 2027-28. Before 2025, about one in five high schoolers used a device from home.

After lawmakers passed House Bill 1481 that year, banning personal devices brought from home, the district had to come up with about 2,500 devices for those students in a hurry, she said.

Asked about leasing devices instead of buying them, Smith said bond money cannot be used for leases and the operating budget, already in deficit, has no room to absorb them. McDonald pointed to one example of rising prices: a specialized computer used in career and technical classes cost $2,400 in 2024 and costs $3,200 now.

On fine arts and athletics, Deputy Superintendent of Schools Cory McClendon said the proposal would maintain current programs rather than add facilities. "There's nothing new and shiny here," he said.

Athletics Managing Director Chris Burtch said Frisco gets three or four years out of light-colored football uniforms where a neighboring district replaces them after two, and the district replaces band uniforms at 10 years instead of the expected eight. Weight room flooring and protective padding in gyms are also on the replacement list.

After each topic, members were asked to say whether they thought the item belonged in a possible bond. The district says coming meetings will look at more facility needs and at financial limits for the proposal.

Sources

friscoisd.org

friscoisd.org