The Carmel Clay Schools school board has recently approved a plan to replace the school district’s school buses. School board president Tricia Hackett said the buses don’t have any detected problems, but the district needs to follow the procedure.

“Our school buses are replaced on a 12-year cycle which is dictated by state statute.  All buses must pass a safety inspection each year,” Hackett said.

Senior Vivian Chen, who has ridden school buses in Carmel since first grade, said she has noticed some minor wear and tear over the years.

“Sometimes I see rips or patches on the seats,” Chen said. “It’s good and refreshing for the buses to finally be changed.”

Hackett said the new buses will not have any effect on routes or times, and will look and function very similarly to the “retiring” buses. Buses will be replaced periodically over the next 12 years. The only real impact could be that students notice something different, Hackett said.

She said, “A few students each year might notice that their  bus looks newer than the bus they rode the previous year.” By Rebecca Xu <[email protected]>