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East Rockaway reviews transportation and facilities budgets; bringing a BOCES CTE route in-house reduced costs
Summary
District staff described a hybrid transportation model with most routes contracted but one BOCES CTE route brought in-house to improve reliability and reduce cost; facilities projections show modest utility savings from energy upgrades and a safety-driven change to remove field goal posts seasonally.
District staff presented details of the facilities and transportation budgets during the March 17 work session, describing a mix of contracted services and in-house operations and several targeted changes to control costs and address safety.
The district has 18 custodial and maintenance staff across three buildings and uses contracted providers for the majority of private/parochial and special-education transportation routes. Staff said they hired an additional bus driver last year and brought a BOCES CTE route in-house; the change improved reliability and was cheaper than the prior contracted arrangement that had experienced a 30% single-year price increase.
Mr. McN explained the district contracts with multiple vendors and seeks to partner with neighboring districts (Lindbrook and Melvin) to share routes where possible. He said transportation budgeting follows New York State rules that allow contract extensions and CPI-based increases but noted an April 1 deadline for non-public transportation requests that drives budgeting for newly moved-in students.
On facilities, staff reported an $8,000 projected reduction in the water bill after identifying and repairing a leak and attributed broader utility-stabilization to energy-performance contract upgrades. The facilities presentation included a safety decision to remove high-school football field goal posts at the end of each fall season and reinstall them before the football season to avoid conflicts with baseball/softball play and reduce safety risk.
Staff projected a net $122,000 increase across contracted transportation codes driven by added routes and vendor increases but said bringing certain routes in-house helped offset some contract costs. The board was told a final determination on routes and non-public requests would be set after the April 1 deadline.
These facilities and transportation items will be folded into the April 21 final budget adoption.
