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Darien to study bus depot before considering later high-school start times, superintendent says
Summary
Superintendent Eric Byrne said the town and district are analyzing whether a local bus depot is feasible and affordable; he told the community First Student is the current contractor, other vendors cited lack of a depot, and the district estimates a roughly $500,000—to—$700,000 annual swing in costs if a depot were built.
Darien Superintendent Eric Byrne told a community fireside that the district will not move forward on changing high-school or middle-school start times until the town and schools complete an analysis of transportation logistics and the feasibility of a local bus depot.
"Right now we are working with the town on exploring the notion or the concept of getting a bus depot," Byrne said, noting that transportation contractor First Student currently brings buses from a yard in Stamford. He said other companies told district staff they did not bid because the town lacks a depot, and the district has prepared a financial analysis for town officials.
Byrne gave a rough estimate of potential cost impacts: "There's about a $500,000 to $700,000 swing per year if we had a bus depot," and emphasized that land, facilities and other local constraints make the question complex. He also cited examples from peer districts: Greenwich reversed a start-time change for financial reasons, while New Canaan and Wilton made smaller or earlier shifts with different transportation footprints.
Because start-time changes affect after-school activities, athletics and family schedules, Byrne said the district must bring in outside experts to study trade-offs and operational ripple effects. "We need people that do this for a living," he said, adding that the board and administration will present results and next steps once town and district analyses are complete.
The district said it expects to return with information before Thanksgiving (per the town's and district's follow-up meetings) and that the board will then decide whether to commission a full start-time study. No formal motion or vote was recorded during the session.
