Hopkins board hears transportation audit; favors preserving bell times while expanding no-bus zones and pay-to-ride option

Hopkins Public School Board members received a detailed transportation audit at an April 8 workshop and indicated support for a plan that preserves existing bell times while shifting some nonpublic school rides and expanding no-bus zones to reduce fleet needs and costs.

The audit, carried out with consultant CECL and presented by Assistant Director of Transportation Maisha Williams and others, compared four bell-time scenarios and modeled how each would affect the district’s general education fleet and costs. “The total number of gen ed buses used on your current bell time system is 55 buses,” Williams told the board. Superintendent Mary Pirie Reid outlined the budget context: “Before COVID, we were paying about $6,000,000 for transportation and… we're sitting at around $11,000,000,” she said, noting the district must find efficiencies as it plans for a $7 million budget reduction for FY26.

Why it matters

The district faces a multi-million-dollar shortfall that has pushed transportation into the center of budget planning. Buses are contracted services for Hopkins; staff and consultants modeled routing, bell-time changes and “no-bus” eligibility to estimate how many contracted vehicles could be removed and how quickly savings might appear.

Most important findings and numbers

- Current contracted general-education fleet modeled by consultants: 55 buses; Williams said current open-enrolled students on those routes number 526. Secondary open-enrolled students were cited as 304, which consultants estimated equates to roughly four to five buses. - Rough per-bus cost used in the analysis: about $100,000 per bus per year (consultants said that figure reflects contracted services, with fuel excluded). - Scenario outcomes presented (consultants’ modeled results): keeping current tiering but moving three elementary schools to a different tier reduced the fleet by 3 buses (to 52 buses) — an estimated ~$300,000 annual savings; reassigning nonpublic schools off the busiest secondary tier produced reductions up to 9 buses in one set of options (down to 46 buses); moving the three nonpublic schools (Notre Dame, Good Shepherd, Blake) to a dedicated third tier (Scenario 4) showed an estimated reduction of 4 buses, roughly $400,000. - Separately, the consultants modeled “no-bus zones” (expanding eligibility limits to 1 mile for elementary and 2 miles for secondary). They estimated elementary-tier reductions of roughly 7–11 buses and secondary-tier reductions of about 8–10 buses; consultants said those savings overlap (not additive) when combined with bell-time scenarios.

Discussion and board direction

Consultants and staff emphasized the distinction between discussion, direction and policy decisions. The audit team described routing and capacity practices now in use: “we have a capacity of 77 passengers, but we really do not wanna go over about 54-ish,” Maisha Williams said, describing the district’s routing practice of leaving space to avoid extreme crowding. The team also said past practice had been to add buses when routes filled; they recommended clearer capacity rules and options for families.

Board members repeatedly framed their choices around disruption to families. Several board members said they favored Scenario 4 because it preserves current bell times while producing meaningful savings. Vice Chair Andreessen said, “scenario 4 is definitely, like, to me as as close to a no-brainer as possible,” and Director Zhou echoed that the scenario was “the least disruptive.” Several members named Scenarios 3 and 4 as the most viable options because they combine cost reduction with limited family disruption.

On policy and implementation, staff described a multi-part operational approach rather than a single instant change: 1) set revised bell-time rules if the board directs, 2) expand no-bus zones (1 mile elementary, 2 miles secondary) in policy and regulations, 3) implement clearer capacity limits for open-enrollment stops, and 4) offer a pay-to-ride option for some open-enrolled families to use contracted rides closer to home. On pay-to-ride, staff said the contract arrangement would be between families and the contractor and “will not bring direct revenue into the district,” but could reduce the need to add contracted buses for open-enrolled riders.

Equity, exceptions and community supports

Board members repeatedly raised equity and safety concerns about children walking to school. Director Sharon Dreesen asked whether hardship exceptions were possible; consultants and staff said an exceptions process could be designed but cautioned that ad hoc exceptions would risk adding buses back into the system. Dr. Mary Pirie Reid said the administration would center equity in planning and asked staff to develop an operational exception process and community outreach plan.

A range of community mitigation ideas, already discussed by staff, were also mentioned: safe-routes partnerships, neighborhood volunteer escorts or walking pools, additional crossing patrols (which can carry a municipal fee), and partnerships with community education and YMCA programs where feasible. Staff and board members agreed to develop communications and site-level work groups to help families transition.

What the board decided (direction, not a final policy change)

No formal vote to change bell times or policy was taken at the workshop. Instead the board signaled consensus-level support to: prioritize Scenario 4 (preserving current bell times while moving the three named nonpublic schools to a third tier), expand no-bus-zone policy language (1 mile elementary, 2 miles secondary), and implement a pay-to-ride option for open-enrolled families. The board directed administration to draft implementing regulations that include a clear exceptions process for hardship cases and to return the proposed regulations and timelines for second reading and final action.

Clarifying details extracted from the presentation

- “The total number of gen ed buses … is 55 buses” (presentation data). - “Before COVID, we were paying about $6,000,000 for transportation and… we're sitting at around $11,000,000” (Superintendent Mary Pirie Reid). - Approximate cost used in modeling: $100,000 per contracted bus per year (consultant stated that figure excludes fuel). - Open-enrolled riders on modeled routes: 526 total; 304 on secondary routes (consultant modeling).

Next steps and timeline

Administration said they will: (a) finalize draft regulation language to accompany policy 707 (transportation) that spells out the 1-mile elementary/2-mile secondary no-bus zones and a needs-based exceptions process; (b) begin planning pay-to-ride contractor facilitation for open-enrolled families; (c) run routing software to finalize bus counts and projected savings; and (d) provide board members with community engagement materials and site-based work groups to help families transition if the board adopts the changes.

Ending

Board members praised the audit and asked staff to move quickly while protecting students’ safety and equitable access. The board’s next steps will be administrative drafting of regulations and a return to the board for second readings and formal policy action. If the board later adopts policy changes, staff warned, savings will depend on continued enforcement of capacity limits and on whether families accept alternate stops or pay-to-ride options.