White Plains superintendent says bus costs surged; district proposes aligning elementary start times

White Plains City School District Superintendent Dr. Ricca told the Board of Education on Dec. 9 that the district faces a large, unexpected increase in transportation costs and is proposing to align start and end times for all five elementary schools, a change that would shift Church Street Elementary School’s schedule by about 30 minutes.

The move is intended to reduce the district’s transportation bill after a recent request for proposals returned bids well above earlier estimates. Dr. Ricca said an audit had anticipated a 30–40% rise in costs but that proposals came back in the 50–60% range, producing what he described as “about $5,000,000” the district must address across upcoming budgets. He told the board he will not recommend exceeding New York State’s tax levy cap to cover the increase.

District officials said they considered several options — cutting programs, identifying internal efficiencies, using limited fund balance, pursuing lease revenue, retirement incentives and expanding before/after‑school services — and concluded that aligning elementary start times offers transportation efficiencies the other steps would not fully achieve. Dr. Ricca said the district will work with community partners and providers to expand wraparound care and to try to limit costs for families who need before‑ or after‑school care.

Dr. Ricca said the district began sharing the challenge publicly in September and surveyed families; he said the district received more than 300 responses and that 54% of respondents described an alignment proposal as “terrible.” He described parents’ central concerns as employment impacts and access to affordable childcare. “This is a challenging situation,” Dr. Ricca said. “We are trying to...figure out a way to save costs associated with those increases.”

Public commenters representing Church Street families called the proposal deeply disruptive. Julia Olivo of 175 Trenton Avenue said the change “would be on the backs of Church Street families” and questioned inconsistent budget numbers presented to parents. Crystal Williams urged the district to bring the presentation to Church Street and provide transparency and said families face substantially higher costs if forced into YMCA/YWCA care. Bessa Zabalai, a single parent, told the board the schedule change could imperil her employment and asked what supports the district would provide to single‑parent households.

Board members said they had examined multiple options and asked whether the district could defer the change for one year or find the $2 million the superintendent estimated as the cost to maintain Church Street’s current busing tier. Dr. Ricca said one‑time uses of fund balance and other savings would be short term and that the administration’s recommendation is the most sustainable option for protecting programs across the district long term.

The board did not take a vote on changing start times at the Dec. 9 meeting. Dr. Ricca said the district will update the full White Plains community this week, continue budget development and bring proposals through the board’s policy and budget committees. He said he “will not be recommending that we pierce the tax cap” unless a truly catastrophic scenario required it.

Speakers quoted in this article are participants in the meeting or public commenters; quotes are attributed to those speakers as recorded in the meeting transcript.

Ending: The district plans additional community outreach and detailed budget updates in the coming weeks and will return to the board with staff recommendations and timelines before any formal change to school hours is adopted.