Bessemer installs chargers for electric buses

By MEGAN HUGHES

[email protected]

Bessemer — The Bessemer Area School District has been working on a few projects that have come to fruition, according to Superintendent Richard Matrella.

The district saw the installation and hookup of chargers for its electric buses, and Massie Field has seen an overhaul of its baseball dugouts.

The dugout update has been a long time coming, according to Matrella, who spoke with The Globe on Tuesday.

“This has been a project that has been on the radar for the past couple years,” said Matrella. “We felt that everything was ready to do, so we have updated it. It has been a long time coming. The last time that they were updated was in the early 2000s.”

The dugouts have a new concrete flooring, and the protective fencing has been updated, according to the superintendent.

“It is really about protecting the kids and giving them space to move,” he said.

The electric buses have been up and running since the start of the school year, but until recently, the school was relying on what Matrella calls “backup chargers” to perform the daily charges for the morning bus routes. The school is excited to see what all these buses can do now that their full chargers have been installed and hooked up.

“We are going to try and use them as much as possible until we figure out the ins and outs of how they run,” Matrella said.

He added that the plan, at this point, is to use the buses for both morning and afternoon runs, with the school keeping an eye on charging times and battery depletion for future reference.

The school also may use them for short trips as testing continues.

The district’s Board of Education met on Sept. 23 with a short list of agenda items, said Matrella. At the meeting, the board:

—Tabled the new teachers’ contract until a special meeting later in the month.

—Approved the overnight band and choir trip to Steven’s Point.

—Hired Terri Froeming as a new aide for Washington Elementary School.

—Approved contracts for the athletic director, event supervisor, Michigan Integrated Continuous Improvement Process coordinator, and the academic curriculum consultant, pending updates to the contract language.

—Approved a three-year contract with Garbridge and Company of Grand Rapids for auditing services.