The Mid-Prairie School District is getting help purchasing two new school buses thanks to a grant program available through the U.S. Department of Transportation.

District Business Manager Jeff Swartzentruber says the almost $53,000 VW Settlement Grant will allow the district to cut the cost of one bus by nearly 50-percent, “When we talked at the (school) board level we talked that this grant was almost like a sale for us, buy one get the second half off because a school bus runs you about $100-108,000 was the price this time, and that’s a full-size bus.”

Swartzentruber says the district tries to replace two buses every year and this year they will purchase two propane-fueled buses, bringing their total fleet of propane buses to eight. He says propane buses allow for more seating capacity and they get better mileage which is very important for a rural school district like Mid-Prairie