Pullman School District reviews staggered and tandem bus plans to reduce rural gaps

Justin Polstead, the district's executive director of operations, presented a transportation update on current routes and options to expand district-run service across the district's roughly 220-square-mile boundaries.

Polstead said the district currently transports K–5 students within town and all K–12 students in rural parts of the district, while Pullman Transit provides service for many students in grades 6–12. "We're not planning to run multiple buses out into the rural parts of town," he said, describing the constraints that led staff to explore alternative route designs. He said the district wants to transport more students without adding drivers and to keep student ride times low.

Polstead summarized two approaches the district tested: a staggered-start model (elementary at 8:30 a.m., secondary at 9 a.m.) and a tandem hub model that uses existing schools as transfer hubs. The staggered model performed well in the morning but created long waits for elementary students in the afternoon, which Polstead described as "not an ideal route." He then outlined a tandem plan that would run multiple buses per quadrant and use Franklin as a transfer hub so elementary students disembark at their home school while older students transfer to buses bound for Lincoln or Pullman High School.

Polstead said the tandem option was the most promising. "The math that we've been doing ... this would probably add 20 minutes to 25 minutes to the ride for students that live the furthest away," he said, adding that the proposal was feasible with the current fleet but depended on driver availability. He said buses were available but drivers were the limiting factor; the district had recently certified two new drivers, with two more in process, and maintenance staff planned to become certified testers to speed training.

Board members asked about supervision and logistics. Amanda Tanner asked whether neighborhood walkers could get to their local elementary to transfer to a secondary bus; Polstead said yes, that was the goal. A board member asked, "Who's going to provide that supervision?" Polstead replied that morning building supervision would likely be adjusted at some schools and that not every school currently has the transfer supervision in place.

Board member Craig Mills said the district planned a dry run during spring break using the trip-planning software to time routes and evaluate stops. Several board members and Superintendent Bob Maxwell discussed funding options if additional drivers were needed. Maxwell said some districts receive a portion of transportation funding through the state STAR formula and that securing more revenue is complex; he noted the district currently does not receive the same share of transportation funding as many urban districts. The board chair said the item will return to a work session for further discussion and that a transportation levy could be one option to improve driver pay and retention.

Polstead emphasized that special education and preschool routes would remain unchanged. He asked the board to consider the proposal and said staff would continue recruitment and refinement of routes.

The board did not take formal action on the proposal; members asked for additional analysis and a work-session discussion before any change would be adopted.