Chatham County Schools & Chatham County Government Open Joint Use Transportation Facility

Chatham County Schools Transportation Director Joel Caviness (pictured above speaking at the ribbon cutting ceremony) sketched out the first diagram for the new school bus garage on a piece of printer paper that is now framed and hanging in the entrance to the new state-of-the-art facility shared by Chatham County Schools and Chatham County Government.

On Sept. 28, 2016 officials from Chatham County Schools and Chatham County Government joined to cut the ribbon for the new Joint Use Transportation Facility. It is the first such shared garage facility in North Carolina and the ribbon cutting took place, symbolically, with a police cruiser and school bus in the background.

For the first time, through much collaborative effort, a single school-operated facility is maintaining both the school fleet and the county fleet. The school system reports that it will provide a much higher level of service, efficiency, and a significant cost savings for both organizations.

The new 28,000-square-foot facility is located on Renaissance Drive just west of Pittsboro near the animal shelter and new detention center. Chatham County Schools Transportation Department moved into the facility in April 2016 and the County set up operations in July. Joel Caviness, Transportation Director for CCS runs the operation and the county provides financial support. All staff are employed by Chatham County Schools.

“This facility meets a critical need for both parties,” said Commissioner Chairman Dr. James Crawford. “Both had long outgrown our garage facilities, which were also in very poor shape. The county’s old garage had almost no storage for parts and was very hard to work on more than one vehicle at a time.”

Superintendent Dr. Derrick D. Jordan said, “Our school district is fortunate to be a part of this innovative partnership, the first of its kind in North Carolina. The new joint facility is a testament to the strong relationship between our Board of Education and our Board of Commissioners.”

Among the features of the new garage are:

Indoor hydraulic lifts that can handle everything from buses to heavy trucks to small cars
Tire changing room
Ample storage for tires and parts
Training and meeting room
Fueling stations that can supply all types of vehicles and 40,000 gallons of above-ground fuel storage
Full bus wash bay
Capacity for anticipated future growth

Click HERE to see pictures of the new facility.