Mount Vernon, N.Y. — A transportation consultant told the Mount Vernon City School District Board of Education at its Aug. 5 work session that rerouting special-education trips, consolidating stops and moving route design in-house could reduce the number of buses the district uses and lower transportation costs.

The plan could affect special-education students and families across the district. Larry Lee Fiber, the consultant, said his review of last year’s routes showed heavy fragmentation: about 600 special-education students rode more than 78 bus trips, often averaging fewer than eight students per vehicle on buses with 16-student capacity. "The most dangerous thing any school bus does is make a bus stop," Fiber said, urging consideration of corner or group stops to shorten routes and improve safety.

District leaders framed the discussion as a response to a transportation budget that exceeded available funds. Dr. Strickland, the district superintendent, said families must update address records so routing work can be based on current data: "Please bring your leases or your phone bills and things of that nature and get your addresses updated," he said, adding that accurate information is required to guarantee transportation on the first day of school.

Why it matters: Transportation is one of the district’s largest expenditures and a major driver of last year’s deficit, board members said. The consultant presented three primary tactics to reduce costs for 2025–26: (1) reposition special-education program placements so students attend programs nearer their neighborhoods, (2) implement limited ‘‘walk zones’’ and consolidated stops, and (3) perform routing in-house rather than relying on bus contractors to design routes.

Details from the presentation
- Capacity and utilization: Fiber said many vehicles were underfilled last year, noting that some buses built for 16 students were operating at roughly half capacity; at one point he cited an average of about 7.7 students per such bus on certain routes. He illustrated several route maps showing how consolidating nine door‑to‑door stops into five group stops could shorten travel time and reduce turns.
- Walk zones: Fiber proposed testing a roughly 1.5-mile walk zone in some cases as a starting point for discussion, noting that New York State law requires district-provided transportation for elementary students who live more than 2 miles from school and for high-school students who live more than 3 miles from school. He cautioned that any change should be weighed against weather and family needs.
- Route design: Fiber recommended the district itself design routing plans and then have contractors perform dry runs (practice drives without children) to confirm feasibility. He said that in summer testing for a single school he reduced 24 summer buses to 16 routes, an example he described as a potential model for further savings.
- Communications and testing: Fiber recommended dry runs within two weeks of the start of school and parent notifications timed so the information is not lost in the mail. He also urged the district to pursue parent-facing tools or apps used by drivers and administrators to notify families about delays.

Board questions and budget context
Trustees asked about timing, family notification, crossing-guard impacts and how corner stops would work for families who may not be at home at pickup. Trustee Scott asked how parents would be notified if a corner stop bus was delayed; the superintendent said an app or other notification mechanism would be evaluated and that students with IEPs requiring door-to-door service would continue to receive it if specified in the IEP.

Trustees also discussed transportation contracting and appropriations. The agenda included an item described as "extension of transportation contracts." Board staff said the budget includes multi-million-dollar up-to amounts for transportation and that the district must budget at least the prior year’s spending for those lines; officials said the goal of the routing work is to reduce next year’s spending so the district can lower future appropriations. The board later approved a motion to send agenda items to the consent agenda and carried several staff-authorized summer hires and security monitor hires related to summer programs.

What the district is doing next
Dr. Strickland said special-education program placements are being finalized in the student information system (Infinite Campus) so routing decisions can be made, contractors can conduct dry runs and parents can be notified. He and Fiber said they will pursue route design, test consolidated stops, and work on communication tools with the goal of implementing stable routes for the 2025–26 school year.

Quotations from the record
"The most dangerous thing any school bus does is make a bus stop," said consultant Larry Lee Fiber. Dr. Strickland urged families: "Please bring your leases or your phone bills and things of that nature and get your addresses updated."

Ending note
District leaders emphasized that routing changes will be tested before being finalized and that students whose IEPs require door‑to‑door transportation would continue to receive it. Trustees requested follow-up data and assurances on notification systems and crossing-guard implications before a broader rollout.