Board Update: Provo School District Recommends Continuing Several Hazardous and Courtesy Routes, Proposes One Wasatch Consolidation

Assistant superintendent Jared Sites told the Provo City School Board on May 13 that the district’s Traffic Safety Committee recommends the board continue funding several hazardous and courtesy bus routes and consider a consolidation that would repurpose a Wasatch route to serve Franklin Elementary during nearby construction.

Sites said the Traffic Safety Committee reviewed routes and stops under Board Procedure 6,600 and recommended continued funding for the hazardous routes serving Amelia Earhart, Canyon Crest, Shoreline and Spring Creek. The committee also recommended keeping one Wasatch courtesy route in place but expressed concern that the second Wasatch route’s safety factors were less pronounced than the other routes.

The committee recommended approving a temporary route to pick up students living east of 500 West for Franklin Elementary because upcoming University Avenue construction is expected to divert traffic toward 500 West and Freedom Boulevard. Sites said that route was recommended based on a request from Provo City Engineering and the Franklin School Community Council.

Sites told the board the committee did not recommend approving a requested bus stop at 600 South and 700 West by the train intersection. "Though there are a large number of students who cross at that location, only seven students reside in the Franklin boundary," Sites said, and most of the students crossing there attend by school choice. He explained district caution about providing new busing for students who attend on choice because of precedent concerns.

Devin Daley, business administrator, provided cost context: Sites and district staff reported that typical Wasatch routes cost about $16,000 each; the proposed Franklin route is about $13,000; Troy Lindloff’s earlier estimate for courtesy stops and routes across the district was about $270,000 total; the specific routes recommended for FY26 were estimated to increase the district’s unfunded routing cost by roughly $30,000 (a figure described as "pretty much a wash" if one Wasatch route is consolidated and redirected to Franklin). Sites also referenced an earlier estimate of approximately $130,000 for portions of the unfunded routes in discussion; district staff said figures were estimates and could be refined.

Board members asked operational and procedural questions. Meg Van Wagonen suggested clarifying deadlines for school community councils to submit hazardous-route proposals so the committee can review them consistently; Sites said the current process is in its first annual cycle and the rubric and website guidance can be updated. Gina Hales noted that policy language and procedure pages needed cleanup on the district website; Sites said the rubric date and procedure could be added to the public site.

Board members asked about the review cadence. Sites and others said the procedure calls for an annual review of hazardous routes and stops; several board members pressed to make clear to schools and community councils that any added courtesy route could be approved on a year-by-year basis and would not be permanently funded. A Franklin Community Council member (represented during discussion) said members expected a temporary two‑year continuation during University Avenue construction.

Sites and board members emphasized operational constraints: transportation director Troy Lindloff (absent) had previously expressed concerns about driver efficiency if routes were changed and recommended keeping at least one Wasatch route to preserve driver routing efficiency. The Traffic Safety Committee said it will convene annually to review requests and will bring recommended changes to the board for action.

No formal board vote was recorded in the study session; Sites said the board would consider adoption of the committee’s recommendations in the evening business meeting.