NORTH PORT — There are 66 drivers who live in North Port and travel daily to north Sarasota, Osprey and Venice to get their school buses. Sarasota County School Board members hoped to create a more efficient system to save the district and its employees money.

With the help of the North Port City Commission Monday, the school district was able to move forward with a plan to build a bus depot on 8 acres of its 51-acre property off Citizens Parkway, near Price and Toledo Blade boulevards. Commissioners OK’d its construction in a 5-0 vote.