OXFORD — The Oxford Hills School District Finance and Operations committees have approved leasing a new school bus to replace one damaged beyond repair in an accident in September.

The price of the two-year-lease agreement is unknown at this time, but all costs will be reimbursed, Superintendent Rick Colpitts said. Once the figures are known, the committees will have to approve them as well, he said.

In September, eight Oxford Hills School District middle and high school students were treated at Stephens Memorial Hospital in Norway for back and neck injuries, and shock after a head-on collision between a car and school bus No. 32 on Route 119. The driver of the car, 19-year-old Brandon Buffington, of Paris, was seriously injured.

The front of the bus was separated from its frame during the impact — a safety feature built into the bus.

Several spare buses are usually on hand and have been put into use since that time to transport students.

Colpitts said that in situations like this, the school district must take two votes: one to agree to a purchase or lease and one to agree to the financing.

The school district’s insurance will pay for the first year of the lease and the state will reimburse the district for the remainder.

“It’s a little unique,” said Finance Committee member Joe Vaillancourt of the voting process.

The vote to approve the financing agreement and what that agreement entails is expected to be taken up in the next month or so.