Bus Type: Thomas Built School Bus C71-71PAXSPED w/ options. See attached Quote and 1 more item

Chesapeake Public Schools in Virginia awarded a contract to Sonny Merryman Inc. on October 5, 2026, for the procurement of school buses. The contract, identified as PO05489766, carries a cumulative value of $5.24 million and encompasses two distinct bus models manufactured by Thomas Built. The procurement includes five Thomas Built School Bus C71-71PAXSPED units equipped with specialized options at a unit price of $166,783 each, and thirty Thomas Built School Bus C71-71PAX units at a unit price of $146,749 each.

The award represents a significant capital investment by Chesapeake Public Schools in fleet expansion and modernization. Sonny Merryman Inc. will deliver a total of thirty-five school buses under the terms of this contract. The differentiation between the two bus models, indicated by the "SPED" designation in the first line item, suggests that five buses are configured for special education transportation purposes, while the remaining thirty units are standard-capacity passenger buses. No specific contract performance period or place of performance is explicitly stated in the available documentation.