AMHERST — With late buses causing students to miss class time and breakfast, the Amherst, Pelham and Amherst-Pelham Regional schools are developing a revised transportation plan that will likely scale back the number of morning stops.
The district already faces a Problem Resolution System complaint with the state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education over the delays. Superintendent E. Xiomara Herman, joined by the Amherst School Committee, held a third listening session this week to gather feedback from families before finalizing the plan. Families are also being asked to complete surveys.
The basis of the plan is an anticipated reduction in the number of stops from 600 to about 235. The district’s 18 buses each run two morning routes, picking up elementary students first and then heading back out for regional students. The new schedule could launch as early as Nov. 30.
“Where we are at as a school system is the fact that our children are not getting to school (on time), and it’s our fault,” Herman told the Regional School Committee Tuesday. ‘We are supposed to provide them transportation to and from.”
Herman said the district’s contract with F.W. Kuzmeskus Inc. of Gill, which handles 14 of the district’s 18 routes for the elementary and regional schools, calls for a certain level of service. But the driver shortages plaguing other districts are affecting that, even as the district’s team works with the company. District staff run the other four routes.
“We have done everything we’ve been advised to do,” Herman said.
Herman explained that because of limited drivers, some buses designed to be on one route are instead having to cover two or more routes. There are also challenges when bus drivers have to wait at some homes for a student to leave the home.
“There are logistical issues we’re facing,” Herman said.
The morning arrivals and the problems being caused by the buses dropping children off late are shown in some of the statistics, which Herman presented at a listening session earlier Tuesday. At Pelham Elementary School, the late-arriving buses are coming closest to actually getting there on time, with the late arrivals averaging 8:20 a.m., or 10 minutes after the start of the school day.
At Amethyst Brook and Crocker Farm schools in Amherst, 8:25 a.m. is the usual time for drop-off for the late-arriving buses, 15 minutes after the start of the school day. At the middle school arrival is 9:21 a.m. and at the high school it’s 9:24 a.m., well after the 9 a.m. start.
Herman also presented data showing how frequently buses are missing their targets. At Crocker Farm, 94 of 179 bus arrivals have been after school already started, and at the middle school 42% of buses are late, or 213 of 507 drop-offs.
Four of the elementary and regional routes are handled by district staff.
Herman said routes with the repeated delays are being identified, discrepancies in addresses for students are being corrected and walking conditions are being evaluated. The hope is to find a solution to group nearby stops and use buses more effectively.
Herman said the final count will likely exceed 235 stops, because kindergartners will continue to receive door-to-door pickup.
In between regular routes are transfer buses, such as for those who are enrolled in the Caminantes dual-language program at Amethyst Brook, which adds to the lag time.
An online survey of families was expected to close on Friday and additional information and feedback will be sought once changes are finalized. “We are listening, we are working,” Herman said.
Those who offered comments at a listening session earlier Tuesday, which was both virtual and in-person at the middle school library, had a number of worries, from eliminating bus stops in their neighborhoods to having existing buses become more overcrowded, which might lead to additional bullying incidents.
Some asked if there was a way to hold the contractor accountable for what is happening.
Sundari Moreira, a Crocker Farm parent, asked if the district was considering having bus monitors on some buses, especially if older students would start riding the same buses with younger students. Moreira also wondered if the same bus driver that students have become accustomed to this semester would remain.
This concern also came from Zhannat Mussina, who said the Amethyst Brook bus driver has changed several times already this semester, meaning confusion for her children, a contrast from last year when her children attended the former Wildwood and had a consistent driver.
Jessica Maier is a parent with two children at Crocker Farm, choosing to keep them there rather than have them go to Amethyst Brook despite being in the new school’s so-called catchment area.
Maier said she is hoping for no bus route changes, as her children appreciate the company on the ride. “It’s such a part of keeping them part of this community,” Maier said.
Herman said she wants to ease families’ anxiety at the beginning and end of the day and address the concerns she has heard from parents and caregivers.
“Parents want a sense of stability and knowing when children are going to reach home,” Herman said.
