Dr. Warren, director of strategy for Portland Public Schools, told the committee at its Nov. 24 meeting that the district has begun designing a multiyear transportation plan (strategic initiative 5.4) to improve equitable student access and operational reliability. He said the work is still in a design year and that staff will seek committee input on early policy choices.

The plan’s primary aims, Warren said, are to reduce walking distances (he gave an example of moving middle-school eligibility from 2 miles to 1 mile) and to reconsider the district’s three-tier bell schedule because tight turnaround windows increase the risk of late runs. "We could almost double our current number of buses and drivers" to bring all elementary schools to a single bell time, Warren said, and staff therefore regard some consolidation options as likely infeasible given current staffing and financial constraints.

Ben LaSavoy from transportation described operational improvements that have already been implemented, including tablets on vehicles, the MyRide app that allows families to track buses and a larger van-driver pool to support specialized and out-of-district placements. LaSavoy said staff are standardizing operating procedures and running training and driver-recruitment partnerships with Portland Adult Education and apprenticeship pilots to build capacity.

A major question the committee discussed was whether to shift some students to a public-transit partnership with Metro. Warren said Metro has been a productive partner but indicated in recent modeling that Metro "doesn't have that level of capacity at this point" to take over all middle-school routes; Metro could potentially operate a small number of high-volume "tripper" runs similar to current high-school arrangements. Board member Opperman asked about cost; staff said the district currently pays roughly $22,000–$26,000 per month for the high-school Metro contract (a reduced-volume rate) and that middle-school pricing is still being modeled.

Committee members pressed staff on equity and behavior-management implications. Warren noted the risk of creating a two-tier system if some students ride Metro while others walk or remain on district buses and said staff would model which neighborhoods and students could reasonably be offered Metro passes. The district also flagged that increasing walkers safely in some areas will require more crossing guards, and staff said crossing guards are typically deployed at release times (not necessarily for late/after-school activities), while late buses for clubs would likely remain.

The presentation also addressed early-childhood special-education requirements: Warren reminded the committee that state requirements to provide special-education services for 3- and 4-year-olds by July 1, 2028, will add transportation obligations where students’ IEPs require it. He said any transportation changes must ultimately account for those obligations.

Warren told the committee staff expect additional Metro modeling within days and that, even if a large structural change is deferred while Metro builds capacity, the district can pursue changes such as hazard-zone adjustments and targeted crossing-guard placement in the near term. Chair Sarah Bridal closed the transportation discussion after about 49 minutes, noting staff will return with refined modeling and proposals.