Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Driver's Ed Car Bought

Students in the Nevada High School Driver's Education program will soon be tooling around in a new Crown Victoria.

The Nevada School Board, in its regular monthly meeting Thursday, Feb. 25, voted to purchase a new vehicle for the program and selected the Ford over a Dodge Intrepid.

Nevada Superintendent Rick McAffee reminded the panel it had tabled discussion on this issue last month to allow him time to get prices on the two.

The Dodge, he said, could be purchased for $16,042, while the Ford is $19,826. However, there were advantaged to buying the Crown Victoria over the Intrepid.

First, the Ford has better resale value, McAffee said, can carry five adult passengers more comfortably and has more storage capacity than the Dodge.

By buying the Crown Victoria and keeping the Intrepid the district currently owns, this will mean fewer problems, he said, when members of the faculty or administrative staff have to take a trip using a school car.

McAffee said the district doesn't normally purchase the extended warranty.

Cross said most warranties cover the powertrain and only have limited protection for the electrical system. One breakdown, he told the board, and the warranty would pay for itself, but for electrical problems the car would have to be taken to a dealer for repair.

If the powertrain is properly serviced, he added, it will last the life of the vehicle.

McAffee informed the board the district puts about 23,000 miles a year on the driver's education vehicle. The one now owned by the district has about 79,000 miles on it and is in good shape, he added.

The district has enough interest capital in its certificates of deposit (CDs) to pay for the vehicle without having to touch the principal.

Cross will check with state purchasing to make sure the Ford is still available. He said some items have had cutoff dates issued already.

The board agreed to make the purchase using the interest from the CDs.

At the January meeting, the board had also discussed buying a new pickup for the district. McAffee asked for this issue to be tabled until the March meeting, as he has not been able to get prices on a camper shell yet.

When the truck is bought, it will be used to haul supplies and commodities to the school building. A van is currently being used, but McAffee said, it is hard to get goods in and out of it, and the van can't be used for transporting students.

The truck being looked at is a 3/4 ton Dodge with a diesel engine. McAffee said the district can get $5,000 for trade-in on the van and use it to help pay for the pickup.

The district is getting ready for its five-year Comprehensive Outcome Evaluation report, McAffee said. This will begin in the fall of the 1999-2000 academic year, with data being collected already.

The board approved travel for four members of the Nevada district to attend a "Smart Start" conference in New Orleans this month.

The district will pay for travel to and from the conference, with all other expenses being picked up through a grant from the Southwest Educational Cooperative.