Town of Raymond putting donated school bus to good use

By Ed Pierce

When a school bus has exhausted its service to a school district it doesn’t always mean it’s the end of the road for the vehicle and a great example of that will benefit generations of Raymond residents in the future.

Last fall, RSU 14 donated a 2012 International school bus from its fleet to the Raymond Parks and Recreation Department and it’s a substantial gift that town residents should take pride in.

RSU 14 has donated a 2012 International school bus to
Raymond which will be used by the town's Parks and
Recreation Department and for other community
initiatives. PHOTO BY GERRY COLLINS

Raymond Parks and Recreation Director Joe Crocker says the idea to acquire a bus for the town came about after exploring ways to get skiers to Shawnee Peak for a recreational trip.

“We looked into renting a bus, but the quotes we received were very high,” Crocker said. “That’s when we started looking into obtaining an old school bus to lower the costs.”

Crocker said Raymond’s Public Works Director Nathan White spoke with RSU 14 transportation officials and rather than send the aging bus to salvage, the school district chose to donate it to the town.

“They were pushing out some old buses and the timing was perfect,” Crocker said.

Once acquired, the vehicle was repainted in Gorham and then earlier this summer, Raymond Parks and Recreation graphics were applied by Time4Printing of Windham.

“It didn’t take very long at all for them to do that, in fact, we probably got it back in about a day,” Crocker said. “They did an amazing job.”

He said that the converted school bus has plenty of life left in it and will be put to good use by the Raymond Parks and Recreation Department.

“It has about 120,000 miles on it and the bus itself is probably worth between $10,000 and $20,000,” Crocker said.

According to Crocker, the bus gives the town many different options for community programs.

“Obtaining this vehicle gives the Raymond Parks and Recreation Department plenty of flexibility,” he

said. “Since the bus was donated, it has allowed us to keep expenses down. We perform all the exterior and mechanical maintenance on it, so we don’t pass the costs on.”

The community will see almost immediate results from the bus.

“We’ve been able to partner with the Windham Raymond School Age Child Care Program to help out with after school transportation needs in Raymond,” Crocker said. “We’ve also been using the bus over at Tassel Top Park this summer.”

As the season changes into fall, Crocker said the town’s Parks and Recreation Department is planning to team up with Age Friendly Raymond to take seniors to the Fryeburg Fair in October.

“Just having this bus now opens up many different possibilities for the Parks and Recreation department,” he said. “We can plan ski trips, shopping trips and use the bus for so many events that we couldn’t offer previously.”

Crocker says Raymond residents are grateful to RSU 14 for the bus donation and it demonstrates how successfully that the school district and the town can work together on behalf of the entire community.

“This donation will benefit Raymond residents for a long time,” Crocker said. “We can’t thank them enough for doing this.” <