If you have ever wondered why some of our buses have so few students on them, the answer is that the State Education Department has required us to "provide a seat" for each child whether they ride the school bus or not. With the current condition of the economy in New York State, the State Education released a memo which can be found here: http://www.nyssba.org/index.php?src=news&submenu=on_board&srctype=detail&category=Advocacy%20Alert&refno=1758 that clarifies their new stance on pupil transportation. In summary, it indicates that schools should be doing everything in their power to maximize the number of students on school buses as well as efficiency of school bus routes.
With this information we are changing our transportation practices and procedures for next year. You will be receiving a letter home over the next few days that outlines these changes, but in a nutshell here they are:
1. Parents will need to return the letter being sent home if they would like transportation to be provided for their children.
2. Bus stops (especially in housing developments and other areas of lighter traffic flow) will be spread out over slightly longer distances.
3. Private and parochial students will ride to school with West Genesee students and will then shuttle to the various private and parochial schools in the area.
4. Students who have requested a bus for them but then do not ride for ten consecutive days without a medical or other approved reason will be dropped from the route.
It will take most of the summer to organize bus routes using this new methodology but the result will be more students on school buses and more efficient bus routing. Your only homework as a parent is to make sure that you RETURN the transportation request letter AS SOON AS POSSIBLE but no later than June 27th.
If you have questions please contact Jerry Williams, our Director of Transportation at 315-487-4576 jwilliams@westgenesee.org or Paul Pelton, our Assistant Superintendent for Management Services at 315-487-4563 ppelton@westgenesee.org.
Thank you and have a great weekend!
Chris
