Stillwater schools detail two-tier bus plan, centralized stops and rider opt-in for fall routing

District transportation staff told the board they have redrawn bus routes and plan to shift next year to a two-tier model with centralized stops and transfer hubs to reduce costs and shorten many ride times.

Presenter (speaker 6) said the district has been running $1.5 million–$2 million over budget in recent years and that routing changes, walk-zone adjustments and other measures put the program on track to be on budget this year. The recommendation includes eliminating a third tier, adding neighborhood pickup points, and using the high school as a transfer location for some middle-, high- and charter-school students.

The district emphasized it will keep later secondary start times, but families should expect some bus-stop and pickup-time shifts of five to ten minutes. Presenters said centralized stops and fewer door-to-door pickups should, in many neighborhoods, shorten actual ride times even as pickup times change. "By being more efficient and having fewer stops along the way... the bus ride's going to be shorter," the presenter said.

To increase seat utilization, the district said it will pack buses more tightly without exceeding legal capacity; that may mean two high-school students to a seat or three elementary students to a seat in some routes. Large items — skis, snowboards, oversized sports equipment or large instrument cases — will not be allowed on constrained secondary routes and must be transported by families.

District staff also reported operational changes meant to lower costs: insourcing some routing work previously done by a vendor, buying five vans for internal routes and hiring a van driver who saved an estimated $2,800 in the first seven days. Presenters said the district expects minimum transportation savings of $663,875 next year and described that figure as a conservative baseline.

The plan affects charter and private schools that use district transportation. New Heights and St. Croix Catholic were described as already familiar with transfers; Saint Croix Prep will transfer at the high school to labeled shuttles. The district said it will provide extra staff at transfer locations and hold family walk-throughs this summer so parents can see how transfers will work.

Transportation staff asked families to opt in for fall transportation via PowerSchool or by emailing schoolbus@stillwaterschools.org; the district said routes and rider assignments will be released in July and late opt-ins cannot be guaranteed to be routed for the first day of school.

Board members asked about the timeline for potentially insourcing all transportation. Presenters said the contract with the current vendor runs for a couple more years and that any shift to full insourcing would be a long-term, phased decision likely to start with vans rather than immediate purchase of dozens of buses.

The district said it walked neighborhoods to verify walking paths for expanded walk zones and is coordinating with cities on snow removal and safe-route issues; exceptions will be made where walking is unsafe. Staff also said they will continue tracking ride times and route performance and will provide families and the board updates as routing is finalized.

Public questions at the meeting focused on sidewalk availability in specific neighborhoods, possible exceptions for activities or large instruments, and how the district will balance efficiency with students' safety and extracurricular commitments. Presenters reiterated the goal of reducing overall transportation costs to preserve classroom resources.