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Parents and trustees press for fixes as Sachem transportation budget drops and service gaps persist
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Summary
Parents and trustees pressed district staff March 31 over persistent transportation failures affecting special‑education students and other families; staff outlined dry‑run and parent sign‑off procedures, BOCES assistance on routes and said the transportation budget will be reduced by about $870,000 next year.
Parents and trustees pressed district officials at the March 31 Saginaw Board of Education meeting for clearer plans after repeated transportation failures, particularly for special‑education students.
Janelle Clark, president of Sachem SEPTA and a parent, said she receives daily complaints and called the district to account after noticing the proposed transportation budget is set to decrease by roughly $870,000.
"Sachem is responsible for the transportation of these children," Clark said during public comment, asking the board for an agenda item or plan to reassure families who fear losing bus service or their jobs because of unreliable routes.
District staff described a set of immediate and planned steps to steady service. Michelle Sarakis said the district reached out to BOCES to assume several out‑of‑district routes, freeing contracted drivers to cover in‑district assignments; she also described new dry‑run procedures that require drivers to attempt parent contact and obtain a sign‑off, with dispatch GPS checks if the sign‑off is missing.
"We reached out to BOCES to see if they could help us alleviate with this shortage," Sarakis told trustees, describing route splits and dry‑run checks scheduled over the upcoming break.
Trustees and staff discussed other ideas raised at the meeting: contracting additional small buses or vans, reimbursing parents who volunteer to drive students, swapping certain routes with the contractor or leasing buses, and using earlier routing timelines and a late‑August 'blackout' period to limit roster changes after the school year starts. Several trustees said the district is working under driver shortages and lingering routing/software problems from prior years that increased costs and complexity.
Board members noted that special‑education students have been disproportionately affected, and several urged staff to prioritize stable service for that population. Staff said BOCES availability and contractor capacity constrain immediate options, and that the district will pursue a combination of route adjustments, additional vendor support and closer contractor oversight.
No formal policy change was adopted at the meeting; trustees asked staff to continue refining plans and return with further options and cost information.
