RAPID CITY (AP) - The Rapid City school district is considering an up to $1 million effort to retrofit its fleet of buses with seat belts.
The Rapid City Journal reports that a federal panel and the National Transportation Safety board recommended last week that all buses should be equipped with lap and shoulder seat belts. The guidance comes days after a recent bus collision in New Jersey that killed a student and a teacher.
But the district's transportation director Dennis Berg says the Rapid City buses are already safe. He says equipping the nearly 100 buses could cost between $750,000 and $1 million.
District spokeswoman Katy Urban says education officials haven't decided on the school bus changes.
Berg says updating the school buses could take 16 years and lead to parent complaints.
