Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Transportation Parochial Busing topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Board approves eliminating afternoon parochial routes outside district; AM-only plan to address driver shortages
Summary
Woodland CCSD 50 board voted to discontinue afternoon transportation for parochial schools outside district boundaries, approving morning-only service and a revised routing plan to cope with a continuing bus driver shortage.
The Woodland CCSD 50 Board of Education voted March 20 to end afternoon transportation for parochial schools located outside the district's boundaries and provide morning-only service instead, citing a persistent driver shortage.
The motion to "eliminate afternoon transportation services for parochial schools residing outside the district's boundaries" passed on a roll call with four board members voting yes and two voting no. Board members who voted yes included Amy, Anna and Corey and Brianna; Carla and Renee recorded no votes on the roll call.
Transportation staff told the board the district currently has five open routes and has reduced open-route counts from seven to four through route combinations. Staff and the board discussed operational details for the amended service: two centralized parochial pickup locations (one south of Grand, one north of Grand) and a plan to shift certain parochial drop-off times (Saint Gilbert's to be dropped off five minutes earlier) so the altered routes fit the district's schedule. Administrators said two shorter parochial routes would drop students at a single centralized stop, which would allow buses to continue to middle-school and elementary routes.
Why it matters: District staff said driver shortages are nationwide and have reduced the district's route capacity; moving to morning-only service will reduce parochial reimbursement revenue (because travel reimbursement is tied to AM and PM miles) but will not lower overall bus operating costs immediately because buses and drivers remain in service. The district expects to capture additional transportation claim revenue in fiscal year 2026 by reporting additional miles under the adjusted schedule, but staff said parochial reimbursements would be reduced because service is halved for those routes.
Board members and staff discussed contingency and staffing concerns, including potential breakdowns and limited mechanic availability; staff warned some routes could not be split if drivers were absent because the buses are likely to be full. Transportation staff said adding a fourth tier of routing is feasible but will require careful scheduling and may be affected by local construction.
The board did not specify an effective date beyond the 2025'26 school-year planning context; staff said the change will affect the district's fiscal-year transportation claims next year.
