SOUTH HADLEY — Next school year, Pioneer Valley Performing Arts Public Charter School (PVPA) hopes to offer free bus transportation to students within a newly revised region, and alter bus routes so that no student lives more than two miles away from a bus stop. 

The revised region that PVPA has proposed would reflect the areas where about 95% of the school’s enrolled students live. If this revision to PVPA’s school charter earns approval by the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE), it would change state transportation reimbursements received by the school, allowing PVPA to do away with high transportation fees for those within the newly downsized region, which would comprise most of Hampshire and Hampden counties. 

“It’s a real challenge when you have folks coming from so many different communities, especially when transportation is a burden,” said Sandra Courtney, enrollment and communications coordinator at PVPA. “We know that we have families that consistently decline offers because they can’t get their kids here.”

Currently, Courtney said, families paying the full cost to reserve their student a spot on a school bus pay almost $2,000 a year. Still, many of those families have to commute long distances just to get to the bus stop.

“It’s not ideal. You can live in Springfield and still have a 20 minute drive to get to the bus stop,” said Courtney, who explained that one of the bus stops is in Springfield. “We have families taking public transport just to get to the bus stop.”

The current region for PVPA extends through Franklin, Hampshire and Hampden counties, as well as several surrounding towns, covering more than 50 towns overall. The newly proposed region is smaller, covering most of Hampshire and Hampden counties, where PVPA found that most of their students reside. The school districts that will comprise the new region are Agawam, Amherst-Pelham, Belchertown, Chicopee, East Longmeadow, Easthampton, Granby, Hadley, Hampden-Wilbraham, Hampshire, Hatfield, Holyoke, Ludlow, Northampton, South Hadley, Springfield, West Springfield and Westfield.

When looking into the reasons why families declined spots at the school, Courtney said that limited access to transportation was frequently cited as a deterrent. More than 60 families at the school engage in carpooling to make the commute work, while others rely on public transportation or long drives to get to the closest bus stop.

“This would be a huge game changer,” Courtney said, explaining that under the new charter, all students in the region would have access to a bus stop no more than two miles from their homes.

Courtney explained that these changes will not effect current enrollment or sibling status in the enrollment lottery. Enrollment lottery applications will still be accepted from students residing anywhere in Massachusetts, but students within the newly drawn region will receive priority status in the raffle. Only students in the updated region will be eligible for free bus transportation.

“Should all things come to pass and this gets approved, then starting next school year we would negotiate a new bus contract,” Courtney said.

The school is currently accepting applications for the 2025/2026 school year at www.pvpa.org/admissions. The application deadline is Feb. 23.

PVPA will know if their updated school charter was approved before their enrollment raffle for next school year, on Feb. 26. Students will be sorted for this raffle according to the updated charter if it passes. During this raffle, PVPA will accept a new 7th grade class and fill openings in other grades at the middle and high school levels.

Members of the public may submit written comments regarding PVPA’s amendment request to charterschools@mass.gov. Comments can also be mailed to Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, c/o Office of Charter Schools and School Redesign, 135 Santilli Hwy. Everett, MA 02149. Email is preferred.

Alexa Lewis can be reached at alewis@gazettenet.com.