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Transportation supervisor says routes unchanged but stop-arm violations rose; board approves safety busing for 2024–25
Summary
The Snake River board approved the district’s 2024–25 bus routes and safety busing after a presentation by Transportation Supervisor Gina Dawson, who reported no route boundary changes but said traffic increases and more recorded stop-arm violations are driving renewed safety efforts.
Gina Dawson, the district’s Transportation Supervisor, told the Snake River School Board on Aug. 21 that her state-required review of safety busing found no changes to the district’s established safety-busing boundaries but identified increased traffic near schools and more recorded stop-arm violations since the buses’ camera systems were installed. Dawson said the state allows busing for students who live within 1½ miles of school when hazards such as highways, railroad tracks and canals make walking unsafe.
Dawson said bus drivers visited routes and handed out bus passes to help students become familiar with drivers and riding procedures; she reported that the first day of kindergarten went “really well” and credited bus passes with helping that success. She also warned the board that upcoming transportation funding is likely to shift toward a ridership-based model, which the district expects will increase its emphasis on getting more students to ride buses.
The board voted unanimously to approve the district’s bus routes, turnarounds and safety-busing plan for the 2024–25 school year (motion by Larin Mortimer; second by Lon Harrington). The motion carried 5-0.
The presentation noted operational changes already taken to reduce hazards: crossovers on Highway 39 have been eliminated and only three crossovers remain on Highway 26, which Dawson said are unavoidable. She said she has worked to reduce student crossings at high-speed corridors and to report traffic increases to the state. Dawson also told the board that the bus camera systems have produced an “increased amount of stop arm violations,” a factor the district will continue to monitor and report.
Next steps discussed included monitoring how a possible shift to ridership-based transportation funding could affect route planning and the district’s outreach to increase bus ridership. No additional actions or funding commitments were made at the Aug. 21 meeting.
