Parents ask Amherst board to restore Universal Pre‑K busing, citing access and cost

Amber Shay, a parent of a current kindergartner, told the Amherst Central School District Board of Education that eliminating busing for the districts Universal Pre‑K (UPK) program would undercut the accessibility the districts capital project aims to expand. "We ask the school board to reconsider the planned discontinuation of transportation for the Universal Pre‑K program next year," Shay said during public comment.

Shay told the board the district estimated UPK busing costs at roughly $250,000 a year and noted the district is pursuing a $68,700,000 capital improvement project that includes about $3,000,000 for an added pre‑K classroom. She said parents shed spoken with expected the loss of transportation would force some families to pay expensive wrap‑around child care—"many of us personally know [that care] extends well into five figures per student annually"—or forgo the program entirely.

Shay also said Just For Kids, a local wrap‑around provider, told parents it was unaware of the planned change and could not currently expand capacity to absorb displaced UPK students. She asked the board to report how many families rely on UPK transportation and whether alternatives to district busing or expanded community wrap‑around services were being considered.

Board policy allowed the board only to listen during public comment and not to respond at the meeting. There was no formal board action on UPK transportation that night. Follow‑up requests recorded at the meeting included returning revised resolutions to the March agenda and additional budget discussions during March budget reviews, where UPK transportation and its possible savings were expected to be addressed.