Following weeks of influenza scares and inclement weather, Elizabethton City Schools will have a chance to catch a break next with a relatively light Board of Education docket.

The BOE will meet Tuesday, Feb. 20, at 6:30 p.m. and receive an update on various events going on within the district and to vote on the possible addition of a new bus.

During January’s meeting, the board voted to decommission a bus to be used for the school system’s “Betsy Book Bus” project. Tuesday evening, officials will look at approving the bid to purchase a school bus for $85,775 from Mid-South Bus Center in Lebanon, Tennessee.

Mid-South Bus Center was one of the three companies to put in a bid to the school system and proved to be the most cost effective.

According to information provided by the system, the bus will be a 66-passenger 2019 Thomas Bus, Model C-2, and be equipped with seat belts, a five-camera digital video system and have GPS enabled to help with tracking and monitoring of speed.

Purchasing a bus comes on the heels of the system’s decision to outfit a former bus to be used as a mobile book library to help school-aged children receive books during the months.

The partners for the project are ECS, the Governor’s Book from Birth Foundation, Imagination Library and the First Tennessee Development District.

With an expected launch date of either June or July of this year, the system is currently accepting sponsorships and donations from area businesses and organizations to help transform the bus and assist with staffing.

According to the system, the overall goal for the project is to raise $15,000. Donations or sponsorships over $5,000 will allow a business or organization to have their name on the bus during their different stops throughout the year.

In other business, the BOE will look to pass an attendance policy through a first reading and also receive an update for the Wandell Early Learning Center.