ASHLAND – The Ashland Board of Education approved the purchase of two new buses and a zero turn mower during a brief board meeting Monday evening.

The district will buy two 84-passenger buses from Cardinal Bus Sales: one bus for $83,326 from the Permanent Improvement funds and a second bus for $83,726 from the General Fund.

Board member Rick Ewing pointed out that the district did not purchase any buses last year and that he is in the process of working with district Business Manager Robert Knabe to create a Permanent Improvement forecast.

“So he’s in the process of looking at the next five years or so and marking out where we expect those expenditures to come, buses included with repairs, all those sorts of things. We did want to see a five-year plan. We’re not ready to bring that to the board yet as it’s just in draft form, but I do appreciate that every once in a while we need to buy some buses so we don’t get behind. This is the time to do that,” Ewing said.

The board also approved purchase of a Hustler Model Super 104 Zero Turn Mower from Ashland Tractor Sales at state term pricing or below in the amount of $21,300.

“We looked at a big diesel mower with a wing setup, which would be two pieces of equipment that you need to drive around. This is a zero turn that folds up and fits on a regular trailer that we can take to Edison and Reagan and mow the high school and we think 30 to 40 percent more efficiency in terms of the mowing so we’ll pick up savings in terms of time and getting the lawns looking very nice,” Supt. Doug Marrah said.

During the board comment period, Ewing, who announced last month that he does not intend to run again when his seat expires this year, encouraged community members to get involved and step up to run for his position.

“Please, if there’s any questions that someone might have, I think we can all speak to our experience on the school board, the value that we see in what we do. I’m hoping there are some good individuals out there in the community that see fit to serve in this way,” Ewing said.

The deadline to register as a candidate for the November General Election is Aug. 9.

The dates and times of district open houses were announced by Supt. Marrah.

  • Ashland Middle School, 8th grade, Thursday, Aug. 17, 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.
  • Ashland Middle School, 7th grade, Monday, Aug. 21, 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.
  • Ashland Middle School, 6th grade, Tuesday, Aug. 22, 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.
  • Taft Intermediate, 4th grade, Wednesday, Aug. 23, 5:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.
  • Taft Intermediate, 5th grade, Thursday, Aug. 24, 5:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.
  • Edison Elementary, Thursday, Aug. 24, 6 p.m. to 7 p.m.
  • Reagan Elementary, Thursday, Aug. 24, 6 p.m. to 7 p.m.
  • Ashland High School, Tuesday, Sept. 5, 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m.