(KLZA)-- The Falls City School Board has approved the purchase of a new minitour bus.

During the Board's May meeting on Monday evening, Transportation Director Rob Baker outlined the increased student requirements and enhanced features including track-style seating benches, integrated child safety harnesses, capacity for multiple wheelchairs and the need for reliable student transportation.

The new vehicle will replace a 17-year-old minibus.

The cost for the Thomas Built Minibus will be $63,422, but qualified for at least a fifty-percent cost reimbursement from the Nebraska Department of Education Special Education Office over the next seven years.