Manchester School Committee approves rider-registration plan for 2025-26 to reduce inefficient routes

The Manchester School Committee on June 9 approved a Transportation Ridership Management Plan that will require eligible students to register for home-to-school bus service for the 2025–26 school year.

Supporters said the change is intended to reduce unnecessary route miles, better balance bus loads and cut costs while keeping existing eligibility rules in place. The district’s presentation said eligibility remains based on residential address and the district’s Transportation 100 policy; implementation is slated to begin with notices in June and registration in July, route assignments in August, and the plan to take effect on the first day of school (September 4, 2025). "We're asking that ... the Manchester School District approve implementation of this Manchester School District Transportation Ridership Management Plan for the 2025–26 school year," a district presenter said during the meeting.

Why it matters: district staff said inaccurate rostering and unfinalized lists have led to extra stops and longer routes, increasing fuel, maintenance and labor costs. The presentation described the district’s legal framework and policy references and said the district currently self-provides service for those more than 1.4 miles from their assigned school in accordance with district policy. The slides cited RSA 189:6 and the district’s Transportation 100 policy as the controlling authorities.

What the plan does: eligible students will receive written notices and will be required to complete an online or paper registration. The district will identify eligible riders by July 7 and gather registration responses through July 30. Routing and designated stops will be finalized between August 1 and August 25; families who registered and qualified will be notified of stop locations and times in the week before school starts. Students who board on the first day and are not rostered will receive an emergency pass and be reminded to have a guardian complete registration to continue service.

Board discussion focused on user burden and operational logistics. Committee member Park urged automatic registration for students who rode buses during the prior year, saying, "I think the students should be automatically registered for the fall if they're already taking the bus." District staff and the superintendent said reconciling current run rosters with home addresses is imperfect because software lists are inconsistent, but that a report exists showing each student’s distance from school and could be used to create a working list into the summer.

Committee members asked about language access, substitute-driver staffing, recruitment of new drivers and how the district will handle students with attendance or behavioral needs. The transportation team said translated materials will be provided, the registration form will be available in multiple languages, and the district is pursuing recruitment and contract changes with its drivers' union to increase substitute capacity. On the question of inefficient buses, staff said roughly "4 to 6 buses" district-wide amount to an equivalent of about six full buses and that routes could be consolidated if nonriding eligible students are not rostered.

The board requested follow-up steps and refinements before implementation: using existing systems (Aspen, Tyler Tech/Traverse, Apogee/Thrillshare) to reduce family burden; exploring targeted SMS and other notifications; cross-checking current rider lists against the 1.4-mile eligibility standard and approved exceptions; and planning administrative support for day‑one emergency passes. Committee members also recommended adding an acknowledgement of bus behavior expectations to the registration form.

Action taken: after discussion and amendments, the committee approved the plan by voice vote. The motion passed as amended; the record shows a voice vote and the chair declared the motion passed.

Implementation and next steps: district staff said they will provide the board a reconciled report that compares current rosters to the 1.4-mile measure and exception lists, finalize translated registration materials, and use the district’s communications tools to target follow-up notices over the summer. The district will monitor attendance and exceptions after implementation and use established exception processes for safety, attendance or behavioral needs.

Committee members and staff said they will continue to refine the plan over the summer and to report back on recruitment, routing software integration and day‑one logistics.