Nauset Joint School Committees Vote Unanimously to Replace Eight Aging Buses

ORLEANS — February 4, 2026 — Nauset joint school committees unanimously approved an eight-bus fleet replacement and superintendent evaluation goals at their February 4 meeting. Chair Maura Newton-Carrie presided over the joint session of the four Union 54 elementary committees and the Nauset Regional School Committee, which voted to lease eight new 71-passenger gasoline-fueled buses on a seven-year arrangement at $23,000 per bus per year — $184,000 total annually — funded by a $348,766 carryover in the FY26 transportation budget that accumulated after the district's 2017-era propane bus lease expired last June. Cape Cod Collaborative representatives Patrick Murphy and Anders Eriksen supported the plan, noting that the district's 20 remaining propane buses will stay in service during the transition. The committee also unanimously approved four performance goals for Superintendent Glenn Brand, covering regional governance, strategic plan implementation, pre-K-through-12 curriculum alignment, and district-wide operational consistency. A heated discussion of the HMFH Architects and Civic Solutions Group facilities and regionalization study drew pointed criticism from Regional School Committee member Chris Easley, who argued the grant was written without educator input and that "the die was already set" before a steering committee was formed. The panel ended without a vote on the FY27 school calendar, directing Brand to first consult union leadership before returning to the topic at an early-March meeting.