Board member raises concerns after routes show students could face more than hour-long bus rides

A board member warned that several proposed 2025‑26 bus routes could require students to spend unusually long periods on buses, prompting the Franklin Area School District to promise a closer review.

“Those bus routes seem a little bit of a detail — I actually saw that there’s five bus routes over an hour,” a board member said, noting one morning route listed at 1 hour 17 minutes and at least 20 routes longer than 45 minutes. The board member added that a student picked up early could transfer and be on buses for potentially more than two hours in the morning.

Transportation director Romanowski, whose routing plan was included with the agenda, responded that the district is following Pennsylvania code and said staff would identify which specific routes exceed policy and report back. “We’re following on the Pennsylvania code,” she said, and offered to look at the routes again and provide a final review.

President Packard asked staff to provide the exact routes in question and a final determination of compliance. “I’ll be glad to look at them again,” Packard said when the board requested the details.

Board members emphasized the operational and student‑welfare concerns behind the question. One member asked whether the district had considered additional vehicles or route changes; Romanowski and other administrators noted that in some cases the district contracts with outside providers to transport students to specialized programs as a cost-saving measure.

The discussion came during consideration of Item 14 on the agenda (transportation routes and vehicle assignments for the 2025‑26 school year). The superintendent and staff committed to providing the board with clarified route documentation and any corrective steps before final approval.

Next steps: staff will identify the specific routes flagged, confirm whether any trips exceed applicable limits, and return findings to the board at an upcoming meeting.