This is the first in a series looking at the Worthington schools' bond issue, which will be on the Nov. 7 ballot. The funds generated from the bonds will be used to replace school buses, purchase computer equipment and repair school buildings.

What is long and yellow and has cracks in the floor, steps too steep for little legs and gets 5.5 miles per gallon of gasoline?

The oldest Worthington school buses, according to district transportation director George Sontag.

Sontag is counting on Worthington voters to approve the "no new taxes" bond issue in November so that the aging fleet of 81 buses can slowly be replaced.

Of the $37.5-million that would be raised, $3-million would be used to purchase 40 buses over the next five years.

Currently, money for buses comes from the general fund -- the same money that pays salaries and buys books.

No new buses have been purchased in the past three years, and 20 buses are more than 15 years old -- the suggested life cycle for a school bus, Sontag said.

The old ones not only cost more to run -- a new bus gets 10.5 miles to the gallon -- but have safety features that had not been invented 15 or 20 years ago.

Seats in the old buses are harder and lower than those in the new buses -- which could cause injuries if passengers are thrown forward.

Also, the steps are very steep in the old buses; floor cracks can be so big that children have been known to get caught in them; and safety features like anti-lock brakes and mirror systems for improved visibility are not in the older buses.

Also, new buses are sound retardant, not sounding like "hollow tubes" like school buses once did, and doors are air-operated, so that kids' arms no longer get caught.

"When you start looking at the details, the differences are huge," Sontag said.

Then there is the issue of the Carpenter buses. Twenty still go out on Worthington roads.

Four years ago, a student was killed in another state when a Carpenter bus rolled over. It was found the buses' roofs collapsed because they were not built strongly enough.

After the publicity, the company went out of business, leaving school districts to deal with the problem.

In Worthington, the school board agreed to purchase 20 buses to replace some of the Carpenters in 2003. The 20 remaining ones have had their roofs reinforced, and cannot be driven over 50 miles-per-hour or on roads with soft shoulders.

"We have to be careful what routes we put them on," Sontag said.

Until the emergency purchase in 2003, the district was replacing two to four buses a year.

With money from the bond issue, eight a year would be replaced for the next five years.

cbrooks@thisweeknews.com