Milton parent urges school committee to prioritize busing for 116 students left off routes

At the Milton School Committee meeting on Sept. 3, resident Nick Ahern urged the committee to make transportation a top budget priority for students who were not assigned bus routes this fall, saying 116 students are currently without district busing.

Ahern identified himself as a longtime Milton resident and parent of two daughters in the district and said his family’s jobs in public education make it impossible for them to transport the children. “The simple reality is due to our jobs in public education, my wife and I are both out during school hours and are incapable of driving my kids to school,” Ahern said. He asked the committee to “immediately prioritize the busing of these 116 students to and from school and make it a budget priority moving forward in future years as well.”

Why it matters: Ahern and other parents said the lack of assigned routes forces families to arrange ad hoc transportation, raises safety concerns for children walking long distances, and creates hardship for working parents. The issue also ties into broader district budget choices: Ahern said adding a bus would cost about $180,000 (minus user fees) and that an additional bus was discussed during the Proposition 2½ override planning but later dropped.

District response and near‑term steps: District leaders told the committee they are pursuing several short‑term and longer‑term measures. In the meeting’s finance discussion, a district official said staff are “exploring crossing guards to ensure we’re doing some of the soft things or the smaller things that might add up to some support,” reviewing attendance on buses to see whether seats can be opened for students on the wait list, and considering whether the middle school could open earlier on some days so families can drop children off before work. “We are looking at it from a right‑now perspective and also a longer perspective,” the official said, adding that the district will examine the FY27 budget and fee structure to determine sustainable options for expanding service.

Fees and cost context: Ahern mentioned that $635 collected by the district on behalf of a family was being held and suggested using it for alternative transportation if busing was not provided immediately. In a separate finance discussion, committee members noted that transportation user fees cover roughly 22 percent of the district’s transportation costs; committee members said fully covering costs through fees would sharply increase family charges and so is not a likely immediate solution.

What the committee will do next: Committee members and staff said they will continue to review immediate mitigations (crossing guards, adjusted drop‑off windows, bike‑rack encouragement and small‑scale supports) while the finance and budget teams model options for FY27 that could address the remaining need. The school committee did not adopt a new funding allocation at the Sept. 3 meeting.

Community context: Ahern said he and other parents were surprised transportation was not prioritized after the override; he urged the committee to keep families who cannot shift work schedules in mind when planning services.

Ending: Committee members asked staff to keep the issue on upcoming finance and budget agendas and to report back on concrete options and costs so the committee can weigh short‑term steps and potential budget changes.