UGISD steers clear of rule on bus seatbelts, citing cost

“We don’t just have half-a-million dollars laying around.”
That’s the rough estimate to get all of Union Grove ISD’s buses equipped with state-mandated seatbelts, according to Dr. Greg Bower.
There are 17 vehicles in the fleet for the rural Class 2A district, the superintendent said.
“It would cost our district about half-a-million dollars and that’s unfunded money from the state,” he repeated. Considering the pricetag, “Our board passed a resolution saying it would be difficult for us to afford to do that, all the required seatbelt changes they are asking us to do.”
This school year is Bower’s first full stretch at UGISD after taking the reins in April. Trustees had the bus issue handled before he arrived.
“As long as the school board goes through and passes that resolution and says they’re aware of it,” Bower said, “the emphasis is on the school board action.
“We’d love to do it if the state would give us money to do it. Right now they’re not funding to schools to shoulder this out of the normal operating budget.”
Notably, out of 17 buses, a portion have seatbelts already, Bower added, and among those without, some vehicles are primarily used to fill-in gaps when necessary.
The ’26-27 school year began Wednesday for the Lions.
“We’ve had a good week with the teachers back, Bower said Monday, thanking First Baptist Church of Gladewater for feeding everyone Aug. 10. “Friday we had back-to-school Meet the Teacher,” getting everyone primed for this week.
“Everything’s fast and furious. It’s going to be a good year.”