Carroll Public Schools leaders disagree with the state?s recent legislative audit recommendation to use smaller buses.
A report from the state Office of Legislative Audits recommends that schools use smaller, less-expensive buses and analyze ridership and enrollment projections to evaluate efficiency.
But “shorter buses don?t last as long and require more maintenance,” said Stephen Guthrie, assistant superintendent for administration.
Larger buses not only have greater longevity with a 12-year life ?smaller ones only last sevenyears ? but larger buses also are safer, Guthrie said.
Carroll administrators misinterpreted auditors on the bus issue, said Greg Hook, director of the Performance Audit Division of the Maryland Office of Legislative Audits.
Auditors recommended that Carroll use buses that are smaller than traditional ones but still have diesel engines and heavy-duty frames.
“[School administrators] were thinking of a modified van with wheelchair lifts, but we were talking about the smaller, yellow buses that are just as heavy duty … and just as safe,” Hook said.
The recommendation came after auditors said buses with original capacities of 48 seats and an average of 25 after modifications for students with special needs carried an average of eight special education children from July 2005 through March 2006.
“As of April 2006, a comparably equipped 24-passenger bus cost approximately $9,000 less than the 48-passenger bus [$58,000 vs. $67,000],” according to the report.
The school system will review the state?s recommendation.
The General Assembly started requiring legislative audits of all Maryland schools in 2004, when Baltimore City and Prince George?s County schools were operating at a deficit.
Much of Carroll?s audit focused on suggestions for tightening up financial practices in the wake of two secretaries embezzling money.
