With the arrival of new school buses, Alachua County Public Schools is ‘retiring’ 40 buses from its fleet. Rather than auctioning off those buses, the district is planning to donate them to churches, 501 (c) (3) non-profit groups and governmental entities based in Alachua County. The district’s goal is to help those organizations better serve the community.

Forty buses will be available and will be provided as is. They are in working condition and have received monthly maintenance. Organizations will only be required to pay for the Florida title transfer and a new tag. There will be a limit of one bus per organization.

An application for the bus giveaway is available here. The form can be filled out and submitted online. Applications will be accepted until 11:59 p.m. on Wednesday, October 21.

On October 22nd and 23rd, 40 eligible applications will be selected through a random drawing. Those selected will receive an invitation to inspect the available buses during the week of October 26.  Specific information about the inspection will be provided to the organizations that have been selected.

The giveaway will be held October 28 at 1 p.m. at the Gainesville Raceway. A representative from the organization must be in attendance with documentation of 501(c) (3) status or church affiliation. Another random drawing will be held at the event to determine the order of selection. A signed bus title will be provided to the organization on site.  The organization will be responsible or having hte title transferred through the Department of Motor Vehicles.

Buses must be picked up from the Raceway by 2 p.m. of October 30.

If you have any questions regarding this process, please contact Assistant Superintendent for Operations Paul White's office at (352) 955-7400, ext. 1401 or at whitepd@gm.sbac.edu.