Bus maintenance and school custodial staff at Hanover School Division have been hard at work getting ready for the start of school.

Director of Facilities Bob Proulx says there is 1,107,141 square feet of floor space cleaned by custodial staff which equals over 20,638 cleaning hours. Over the summer custodial staff are performing floor, furniture, locker, window and wall washing, floor waxing and resurfacing of gym floors.

Meanwhile, Director of Transportation Robert Warkentin says their mechanics are also hard at work getting all 86 buses ready for September 9. Warkentin adds their mechanics go through each bus thoroughly from front to back and feel it's important to continue with regular maintenance for two main reasons.

"One is it's a large capital purchase. [It costs] $100,000 or so for a new bus and we expect 15 years of service on the road. So regular maintenance is key to make that 15 years. So that's one thing, we want to protect our investment," notes Warkentin. "But the other part is we're hauling the most valuable cargo out there and we want to have safe buses. Making sure the lights all work and everything is in operating condition. We view that as a very high priority, that safety is number one."

Warkentin adds they have also been busy installing two-way radios into the division's eight new buses and are making sure everything is ready for Wednesday.