(a) School buses purchased with loans from the Revolving Loan Fund must meet the prescribed minimum standards, laws, rules, and regulations for school buses and must be owned and operated by the district purchasing them.
(b)
(1) Except as provided under § 6-21-306(b), the purchase of school buses with loans from the fund shall be made upon competitive bids.
(2) Forms for bids shall be approved by the State Board of Education.
(3) The district shall advertise for bids by publication of notice in a newspaper having bona fide circulation in the county where the district is located, one (1) time a week for two (2) weeks, giving the date and place of opening bids.
(4) The first publication of notice shall be not less than thirty (30) days from the date set for opening bids and awarding of contracts.
(c)
(1) Any school district which shall desire that the state board purchase buses for that school district, instead of making the purchase as provided in this section, may apply to the state board to make the purchase for it.
(2) If the state board shall receive within a sixty-day period application for the purchase of ten (10) or more buses from one (1) or more districts, the purchase shall, collectively, be made by the state board as is provided in this section for advertising for and accepting bids by a school district, except that the advertisement for bids shall be in some newspaper having a statewide circulation.