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District proposes three-tier bus schedule to reduce late routes, add instructional minutes
Summary
Transportation staff proposed a restructured three-tier bus routing plan for 2025-26, aiming to create more time between tiers, reduce driver fatigue, add unassigned drivers for daily coverage and free instructional minutes at secondary and elementary levels.
Chief Dave Newland, Chief Academic Officer Nathan Shaker and Transportation Executive Director Jared McKinney presented a proposed three-tier bus routing system that would take effect in the 2025-26 school year aimed at improving on-time performance, driver safety and instructional minutes.
McKinney said the current tiering compresses pickups and drop-offs so tightly that drivers begin each morning with a deficit of about 67 available driver-hours before absences, contributing to late PM pickups (the district reported an average 59.5% on-time PM pickup rate). The proposal restructures routes into three tiers with fewer routes per tier and an anticipated operating baseline of 520 drivers and 20 unassigned drivers (UARs) so compounds would hold five spare drivers at each site.
Under the proposal, Tier 1 would include most high-school routes (approx. 466 routes total across high schools, K-8s and one elementary cluster); Tier 2 would include many elementary and early-childhood programs (approx. 411 routes); Tier 3 would include middle schools and Success Academy routes (approx. 300 routes). Staff emphasized the plan does not reduce the total number of stops; it remaps routes to add runnable time between tiers and account for traffic patterns.
McKinney listed benefits: fewer students waiting unattended at stops, more consistent drop-offs/ pickups, increased access to breakfast, reduced in-school disruptions and the possibility of lengthening secondary instructional periods (to 49 minutes) and adding approximately 25 instructional minutes at elementary schools. He said the district simulated the proposal and will conduct additional principal and community briefings; the target implementation is the 2025-26 year to align with school-choice timelines.
Board members asked about driver buy-in, impacts to teacher daily schedules and before/after-care arrangements for families whose schedules will shift. McKinney said staff will continue principal briefings, discuss scheduling and pricing with before/after-care providers and present more detailed rollouts; Superintendent Carlin said the proposal supports instructional-minute increases and recruitment/retention improvements for drivers.
The district will continue outreach to principals, parents and community vendors before bringing a final proposal into the board process.
