Fall River superintendent reports 13 resignations, outlines transportation options including use of public bus routes

Dr. Curley, superintendent of Fall River Public Schools, told the school committee on June 23 that the district had received 13 resignations since its June 9 meeting and had made six new hires.

That personnel update came alongside a transportation briefing in which Curley said the district is examining several cost-saving options tied to a change in the distance calculation used to determine which students qualify for district transportation. One option would let middle- and other-school students who live near public CERTA bus stops board existing CERTA routes and be dropped off at school, eliminating the need for some new yellow-bus routes.

“...we have some things that we're considering right now,” Curley said, describing candidates for savings and new costs in equal measure. Curley listed several route examples the district is studying: permitting students along North Main to use a CERTA bus that drops in front of Morton, consolidating Bay Street riders onto existing CERTA stops, and adding new district-run buses where student growth requires them.

Curley gave approximate per-route figures the district is using to estimate impacts: adding a yellow-bus route is being estimated at about $100,000, and routing students onto existing CERTA service could reduce the immediate need for a district-run route and produce roughly $100,000 in near-term savings for each route consolidated. Curley also said the district will add routes for Viveras and Henry Lord as new students now qualify under the distance change, and those additions were each estimated at about $100,000.

School committee members pushed for clarity on the assumptions behind the savings estimate, whether the district currently spends the $100,000-per-route amount it says it would save, and how long CERTA service will remain free. School committee member Colin Dias asked how many of the recently departed staff had completed exit interviews; Curley replied that, to her knowledge, none had yet been conducted and she would get an update.

Committee members also questioned whether the district can count CERTA runs toward its legal transportation obligation. A staff member who identified as “Mr. Pacheco” confirmed the district currently purchases passes for some high school students riding CERTA when required, and that during the period when CERTA is free the district would not pay for passes; if passes later carry a fee, the district could purchase them and still expect to spend less than operating a full yellow-bus route.

Several committee members asked for additional information before any policy decision: historical data on the high-school tripper runs (attendance and tardiness impacts), documentation of whether the initial high-school CERTA arrangement was approved by the committee, and a clear accounting of which routes would be added or removed under the new distance calculation.

Curley characterized the CERTA option as preliminary and said staff sought committee feedback before bringing a concrete recommendation. She said the district is working to stay within current policy while limiting cost increases required by the expanded distance-eligibility changes.

Committee members asked for follow-up detail: copies of exit-interview results when available, the underlying cost model that produces the $100,000 per-route estimate, and attendance/tardiness data for students who currently use CERTA trippers. No vote or formal action was taken at the June 23 meeting on transportation policy or route changes.