Kalispell schools to buy more stop arms for buses

Kalispell Public Schools will purchase more extended stop arms for its buses as part of improved Montana bus safety laws.

House Bill 267, signed by Gov. Greg Gianforte in May, requires any school bus with route stops where children need to cross the road, must be equipped with extended stop arms that partially obstruct the roadway. The law specifies the arms must have flashing red lights and be capable of extending “at least 54 inches from the school bus at a height of not less than 36 inches.”

The school district’s fleet includes both district-owned and contracted buses. Some of the buses already are equipped with the extended stop arms. The district will purchase 56 more at a cost of $138,725, which will be paid for with money from the district’s bus depreciation fund.

Currently, there is one manufacturer, Bus Safety Solutions, that has a patent on the type of arms required by Montana law, according to Kalispell Public Schools.

School districts have until July 2022 to outfit bus fleets with the new stop arms if required based on route stops.

The impetus for revising bus safety laws came after an elementary student, Jordana Hubble, sustained a traumatic brain injury after being hit by a vehicle while getting off a school bus on U.S. 93 north of Whitefish in November 2019.

Reporter Hilary Matheson may be reached at 406-758-4431 or by email at hmatheson@dailyinterlake.com.