The Fort Dodge Community School District Board of Education approved a recommendation for purchasing four new 77-passenger school buses for the district.

Brad Niemeyer, director of transportation for the district, presented the board with the two bids the district received for the purchase.

Hoglund Bus Co., from Marshalltown, put in a bid for $98,459 for each of the four new buses, plus a $7,000 trade-in allowance for four buses the district will be retiring. The total net price with the trade-ins will be $386,836.

The district also received a bid from Thomas Built Buses, out of Council Bluffs, for $100,678.50 per bus with a trade-in allowance of $4,000 for the retiring buses. The total net price bid by Thomas Built Buses was $398,714.

Niemeyer recommended the school board accept the bid from Hoglund Bus Co.

This proposal is in line with the district’s bus rotation schedule, Superintendent Jesse Ulrich told the board.

The board voted unanimously to accept the bid and purchase the new buses. The new buses will be in compliance with state law requiring newly purchased school buses to have seat belts installed, Niemeyer added.

The buses will also have stop-arm cameras to better enforce no-passing laws, Ulrich said.

The board also passed a resolution tentatively approving plans, soliciting bids and setting a public hearing for the Fort Dodge Replacement Project. The public hearing will be during the Jan. 27, 2020, school board meeting at 6 p.m. at the Central Administration Building, 104 S. 17th St.

The next school board meeting will be at 6 p.m. on Jan. 13, 2020, at the Central Administration Building.