Hopkins transportation audit finds high per‑student costs; board weighs eligibility, bell‑time and fee options amid $7M budget gap

An outside audit presented to the Hopkins School Board on March 25 found the district’s transportation operation is costly and inefficient relative to peers, and offered three broad ways to cut expenses: expand no‑bus (ineligible) zones, introduce a pay‑to‑ride program for noneligible riders, or revise bell times to allow buses to run multiple trips.

The audit, performed by CESO Transportation, found Hopkins runs 116 vehicles — 55 general‑education buses, 32 special‑education buses and 29 vans — transporting about 4,600 general‑education students daily (approximately 65% of enrollment). The consultants reported an overall cost per student of about $2,018, “which is significantly higher than most districts in the state of Minnesota,” CESO’s Nikki Pangrel said. By contrast, she said auditors typically see about $1,000 per student in comparable districts. Pangrel also said the district’s average planned students per bus is 44 and the average regular‑education trip time is about 33 minutes.

Why it matters: Hopkins faces a projected $7 million budget reduction for fiscal year 2026 and the transportation line item is one of the largest controllable expenses in the district budget. Staff and consultants told the board that changes to eligibility rules and bell times could remove buses from service and produce savings large enough to materially narrow the gap.

Key findings and figures

- Fleet and ridership: 116 total vehicles (55 general education buses, 32 special‑education buses, 29 vans); roughly 4,600 regular‑education riders daily. Pangrel: “Hopkins transports 4,600 regular education students daily, which is approximately 65% of your total enrollment.” - Open‑enrollment riders: 678 open‑enrolled students currently use district transportation; auditors noted that at the district’s average ridership rate this equals roughly 15 full buses. - Utilization: Planned students per bus = 44; average trip duration = 33 minutes; average mileage per regular trip = 9.8 miles. - Unit costs: Cost per student = $2,018; cost per bus per year ≈ $97,000.

Audit options presented

1) Expand no‑bus (ineligible) zones. CESO modeled how many currently eligible students would lose eligibility under alternate distance thresholds. Pangrel said moving to the district’s board‑policy distances (0.8 miles elementary, 1.0 mile secondary) would make 235 elementary students ineligible, “which could equal out to 2 or 4 buses.” Extending a no‑bus rule to 1 mile yields 348 elementary students (4–6 buses); a 2‑mile boundary makes 1,034 elementary students ineligible (an estimated 15–19 buses).

2) Pay‑to‑ride for ineligible riders. Under Minnesota law, districts must transport students living more than two miles from school but may charge eligible (closer) families for optional service. Pangrel said neighboring districts use different models: “We see a lot of times that there’ll be a student cost of $250 and then a family max at $350 or $500. Some districts waive fees or reduce them for families that qualify for free or reduced‑price lunch.” She also warned districts must adopt a board policy to charge fees and decide whether the district or a contractor administers the program.

3) Change bell times (tier structure). Auditors and district staff described how the current bell timing leaves insufficient turnaround time between tiers (about 40 minutes now) and prevents buses from doing multiple routes. CESO recommended increasing time between tiers toward 60 minutes or adopting a true three‑tier schedule so buses can be redeployed. Consultants said improving tier spacing and an early opt‑in registration deadline for riders could reduce buses used and lower per‑student costs.

Board discussion and next steps

Board members and staff discussed equity concerns, logistics and the timing of changes. Several board members explicitly emphasized protecting vulnerable families: “I think about families who… rely on busing to get their kids to school,” Director Jason Ross said, urging careful safeguards. Vice Chair Ross and others also raised administrative concerns such as impacts on child care, before/after programs and school staffing.

Multiple board members expressed openness to policy changes for secondary students and asked staff for modeled scenarios: several members said they were comfortable increasing a no‑bus threshold for secondary students (some suggested 1.5–2.0 miles) while retaining a smaller walk/no‑bus boundary for elementary students. Director Jen Westmoreland said she favored a “hybrid idea” — stricter secondary boundaries and smaller elementary limits — and asked staff to run comparative savings models.

Director of Business Services Terrell Chapanduca and Assistant Director of Transportation Naisha Williams were given direction to run firm cost scenarios for alternatives (bell‑time permutations, no‑bus boundary options, opt‑in deadlines and pay‑to‑ride pricing) and return to the board. Chapanduca said preliminary allocations tied to the district’s budget process had already been distributed to school leaders and the administration will continue to refine options through April and May.

Electric buses and community input

A resident and member of a Clean Transportation team urged the district to apply for Minnesota Department of Commerce electric school‑bus grant funding (deadline May 13), noting Hopkins is listed as a prioritized district and could receive up to 80% of bus purchase costs and 85% of charger costs. Brianna Dauken said the state program currently “could cover up to 80% of the cost of an electric school bus, 85% of the cost of chargers, and 85% of the cost of other expenses,” and offered to assist staff with the application.

What the district did not decide

No policy changes were adopted at the March 25 workshop. Board members asked administration to return with detailed cost modeling and recommended policy options. The district’s transportation audit and the budget‑gap target of $7 million frame an urgency to decide by April–May so families and school operations can be notified in time for the next school year.

Ending

Administrators said they will run specific modeling requested by board members — including a version with 1‑mile elementary/2‑mile secondary no‑bus options, opt‑in deadlines moved earlier (May/June), and multiple bell‑time layouts — and present results at the board’s April/May budget meetings so the board can authorize any policy or operational changes before the summer.

"This is a difficult conversation," Superintendent Mary Pirie Reid said. "We are going to have to start making some decisions, and I do apologize for the challenging timing, but we will have to start kind of maybe get some parameters from our board members about what board members are comfortable with, so that we can start moving toward some decisions."