The Times - Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley

WAITSBURG - Waitsburg's school board agreed last month that the District's 2001 Montana passenger van is due for replacement. Transportation supervisor Colter Mohney has since learned that finding the right rig for the job is more of a challenge than anticipated and is still on the hunt.

The eight-passenger Montana is used regularly by District staff traveling to professional development workshops as well as by smaller groups such as FFA and Cross- Country. Mohney said the van has outlived its useful life for the school and will be either surplussed or traded once a replacement is found.

"We originally wanted a fairly new fullsized passenger van and I'm having trouble finding one," said Mohney. The two major hurdles he's facing is finding a vehicle that's both large enough and plain enough.

Mohney had been actively soliciting quotes, but once they started rolling in he realized most were for 12 and 13 passenger vans, which are unacceptable. "If a vehicle holds more than 10 passengers it is required to meet school bus criteria, both for the van and the driver," he said. This means coaches and staff would be unable to drive the vehicle. Regulations also require that the vehicle be a passenger van and not a utility or cargo van.

Mohney has located one Ford and one Chevrolet that may be suitable, but was still waiting for confirmation on seating specifications and pricing at Wednesday night's school board meeting. "I would recommend we put this out another month and I'll do some more digging. I'll start looking at some other vehicles and see if I can't come up with something," said Mohney.

Mohney acknowledged that there are eight passenger mini vans, but that many times "eight isn't really eight." By the time a van is filled with six high school students and their gear it's full, he said. He also said he has heard that some of the newer mini vans have more room and is going to look into that.

Mohney said that Suburbans do have the appropriate amount of seating but are generally too well-appointed. Most Suburbans come fully loaded, so it's difficult to find one without the leather seats, carpet and extra electronics the District is trying to avoid. "The nicer it is, the more man hours it takes to keep it that way," said Mohney. "We are looking for something that is easier to maintain, even with numerous drivers."

Both Mohney and the school board are in hopes that the appropriate vehicle will surface soon, especially since the transportation schedule tends to get very busy in the fall.