Londonderry board approves two-tier bus routes for 2025-26 to combine middle- and high-school runs

The Londonderry School Board voted unanimously Tuesday to implement two-tier bus routing for the 2025-26 school year, combining middle- and high-school runs to reduce fleet needs and route overlap.

Administrators said the district, using a Traversa routing mock-up, could run the reorganized system on 38 buses. Amity (Superintendent), who presented the plan with the district’s bus-company leadership, told the board the mock-up showed typical bus loads of about 20–30 riders on combined runs and that the change could reduce the fleet by one bus and save roughly $70,000 annually.

Why it matters: Board members and staff described the change as a cost-saving measure that could shorten early morning start times for high-school drivers and reduce the number of buses idling and waiting at school unload areas. Officials said the plan should not substantially increase how early middle-school students are picked up from their homes.

School and transportation staff presented details. Jen Willis and Jen Lombard of the district’s bus contractor joined Superintendent Amity and showed the Traversa output that produced the 38‑bus plan. The model assigned stops and displayed estimated run-start times; district staff said the estimate treated juniors and seniors as full riders even though many do not ride buses after obtaining licenses, which should further reduce projected loads.

District staff said typical buses in the mock-up were sized at 77-seat capacity and that practical loads would be closer to two students per seat in many routes. The presenters noted one segment of the plan would require approximately five minutes to move from the high school to the middle school during unload, and that students could be on buses for short periods while drivers staged between buildings.

Board members asked about safety, seat counts, and start times. Tim Porter asked whether middle‑school pickups would be “10 to 20 minutes earlier” than current times; administrators said most runs are comparable to current pick-up times and that students on the outskirts of town, who already have earlier pickups, would not see a significant additional change. Board members also discussed traffic at Mammoth Road and coordination with crossing guards.

The board discussed operational mitigations including assigned seating — with middle-school students seated toward the front of buses and high-school students seated toward the rear — and routine seat assignments similar to protocols used on elementary runs. Administrators also described plans for multi-day implementation and communications to families, noting route adjustments typically settle within two weeks of school starting.

The motion to approve implementing the two-tier routes for 2025-26 passed 5-0. The board directed staff to finalize communications and to continue refining routes in coordination with the bus vendor.

Implementation details and next steps: District staff said they will publish route changes to families before school starts, work with crossing guards to manage vehicle flow near Mammoth Road, and monitor ridership so pick-up times can be adjusted in early September if necessary.