After crossing-guard death, Poughkeepsie residents press board for more school busing as district rolls out BusRite app

A stream of parents and residents urged the Poughkeepsie City School District Board of Education on Oct. 1 to expand transportation and safety protections for children after a crossing guard was fatally struck outside Smith Elementary last week.

Noreen Clayton told the board she had first asked on Sept. 17 for bus transportation for her granddaughter, then described the Sept. 29 collision at the arterial that killed the crossing guard. "It took someone dying to shed a spotlight on the dangers of the arterial," Clayton said, urging that Smith students be bused rather than walk alongside high-speed traffic.

Valeria Jones pressed the board for accountability and immediate measures: "Your negligence led to the preventable loss of James Montanani Nino," she told members, and called for protective barriers, more crossing guards and a public police report explaining why previous warnings were not acted on.

The board sought to explain next steps. Superintendent (Dr.) Mott thanked commenters and said the district is working with the city and state partners on hot-spot protections and that the Department of Transportation must be consulted for changes to the arterial. "We work in collaboration with the mayor's office who hire our crossing guards," Mott said, adding the district will pursue options to expand transportation "particularly those who reside between the arterials inbound and outbound." (first raised by the district in a child-safety-zone study earlier this year)

The meeting included a demonstration and Q&A about BusRite, a routing and parent-app system the district has begun rolling out. Phil Dunn, BusRite cofounder, described the platform's live map, driver tablets and parent ETA features, and Amber Moncerrati said driver stop notes and daily tablet logs give the district real-time feedback to recalibrate routes. BusRite and district staff said drivers have been retrained after initial rollout glitches; the district reported it is transporting 1,082 students daily on the new routes.

Several speakers asked how the district determines eligibility for routes. Dr. Janet Bisti, director of curriculum and instruction, and the district's counsel explained that the board commissioned a child-safety-zone study and presented it to voters; that study recommended a 0.5-mile radius for eligibility (shorter than New York's default 2-mile standard) and the voters authorized the district to provide transportation to students beyond that 0.5-mile radius. Attorney Reid said changing that radius would require further study, state education approval and voter action.

Board members acknowledged the tension between a new system that increases access and the acute safety concerns raised by residents. Several members said they would push for rapid follow-up with the mayor, DOT and state legislators to seek immediate protective measures around Smith School while longer-term changes are pursued.

The board assigned staff follow-ups and said it would report back; no change to district policy or the radius was adopted at the meeting.

What happens next: district staff, BusRite and city partners will continue route calibration, the district will produce additional reports on ridership and on-time performance, and board members encouraged community members to press state legislators for statutory changes or DOT action where needed.