Minot and surrounding school districts are applying for federal stimulus grants that would provide substantial discounts for school bus purchases, said Barry Brooks, supervisor of purchasing and transportation for the Minot school district.

"I don't like the term Cash for Clunkers," Brooks said Wednesday. "We're not giving up clunkers."

Brooks added that the term "Cash for Clunkers" is nowhere on the grant applications that the district has filled out.

Kathryn Pederson, director of the Mid-Dakota Education Cooperative, of which Minot is a member, also said the program has nothing to do with the "Cash for Clunkers" program that ended earlier this week.

Under the state grant guidelines, districts can get up to 50 percent off any bus that met 2007 or 2010 air emission standards. Pederson said the state has about $2 million to distribute and expects that to provide discounts on 50 to 60 buses. The grant provides a 50 percent discount up to $40,000.

Of the 13 districts in the Mid-Dakota Education Cooperative, Max, the Lewis and Clark School District, South Prairie, Minot, Des Lacs-Burlington, Glenburn, Kenmare, Bowbells, the Minot Catholic Schools, and Nedrose have submitted grant applications in hope of getting discounts on buses, said Pederson. She said that would be discounts on about 30 buses, though she doubts all of the applications will be approved.

Brooks hopes to purchase three buses for the Minot school district if the cooperative receives the grant.

The requirements are the same as under the Cash for Clunkers program for cars. The engines on the bus would have to be totally disabled and the vehicles taken out of use, Brooks said. Pederson said that the discounts could only apply to "a like bus," meaning that a diesel bus of a certain size couldn't be traded for a bus that runs on gas and is a different size.

Any kind of discount would be a bonus for the Minot school district at a time when the cost of vehicles is rising. Brooks said the new emission standards, the new requirements for seating, and the high cost of steel are all contributing to the price hike.

"Just a plain Jane 71-passenger seat bus would cost me at least $70,000 or more," said Brooks, while a bus with other specifications, such as a wheelchair lift, would cost $75,000 or more.

Since all buses are made to very specific requirements for different schools, it takes several months for a bus to be delivered after it's ordered, said Brooks. He said the 2010 model buses aren't out yet.

The Minot Public School District has a fleet of 38 buses. It doesn't transport all students, but does bus some students at Washington, Sunnyside and Bell Elementaries and special education students. It has a contract with Northland Busing to run buses between Minot Air Force Base and Minot and has busing for special needs students on the base. The district also runs shuttle buses between Minot High School-Central Campus and Magic City Campus and uses buses for extracurricular activities and field trips. Buses with wheelchair lifts are required any time a student using a wheelchair is transported.