Manassas Park Schools Set to Receive 3 New Buses

Three new school buses will be in service in Manassas Park for the 2013-2014 school year.

On Monday, the Manassas Park City School Board approved and authorized a lease-purchase agreement with U.S. Bank Corp for $272,540 for the three buses.

The school division purchased two, 77-passenger school buses and one special needs bus to service all four of the city's schools.

The 77-passenger buses cost about $86,000 each, while the special needs bus was just short of $100,000, according to school division data.

The buses will replace the aging school buses that are now in service. The old buses will be used as backup buses next year. Meanwhile the current back up buses will be traded in and used toward the purchase of the new buses, school staff said on Monday.

The school division choose U.S. Bank Corp. as its lender because it offered the best borrowing terms.

An invitation for bids was posted on the school division's website and sent to 11 lending institutions. Eight institutions, including U.S. Bank Corp replied and it offered the best borrowing terms, staff said.

The deal is for the school division to make five annual payments of $56,459 for a total of $282,295. That amount includes $9,755.40 in interest to the bank.