Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Student Transportation topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
School Committee weighs transportation cuts, budget and state law on who must be bused
Summary
Committee members reviewed city and state obligations for student transportation, heard that state law requires busing for students in kindergarten through sixth grade living more than two miles from school, and asked staff to model multiple scenarios as the city’s contribution is constrained.
School Committee members on May 28 examined Revere’s student-transportation budget and state requirements as city funding pressures force staff to identify potential service reductions.
A staff presenter told the committee that state law requires transportation for students in kindergarten through sixth grade who live more than two miles from school. Committee members were briefed that the city’s proposed contribution for the coming year is roughly $9.7 million and that the school system’s total transportation budget is estimated at about $11.7 million after expected reimbursements; without reimbursements staff estimated the nominal cost at roughly $14.5 million.
The mayor and committee members described a multi-year trend of rising transportation costs and other budget pressures. The mayor said transportation costs and health-insurance increases have outpaced municipal revenue growth and framed the discussion as one of constrained choices: the city has provided a higher allocation than last year but that amount would not cover all growth in transportation and other mandated costs.
Committee members asked staff to run scenario analyses that would show savings under multiple policy choices, including eliminating high-school busing, changing distance thresholds (for example, a two-mile rule), modifying cross-district lottery busing, and combining routes with neighboring communities. Staff said they have been exploring operational efficiencies, including combining runs with neighboring districts where possible, and that the transportation office is running detailed analyses of each route to identify opportunities for consolidation.
Staff provided several numerical estimates during the discussion: roughly 25 district buses account for a large portion of operating costs (staff estimated $2.6 million for that slice), and committee members described per-bus cost figures in the review. Staff emphasized that certain transports cannot be reduced: statutory obligations for special-education students and homeless students remain. Committee members asked for follow-up analysis and for the transportation director (named in discussion as Denise) to present savings scenarios at the committee’s next meeting. A committee member suggested continuing the transportation conversation under "old business" at the next regular session to avoid rushing decisions at the May 28 meeting.
No final policy decision or vote was taken on May 28; the committee requested additional analysis to inform later choices.
