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Parents protest South Fork bus changes after district switches vendor
Summary
Parents of South Fork private-school students pressed the Shelter Island board over a switch from Sunrise Bus Company to East Hampton UFSD that combined routes, increased ferry and ride times and left some parents upset they were not notified earlier; administration presented cost comparisons and a Commissioner of Education ruling on mileage eligibility.
Parents of South Fork private-school students pressed the Shelter Island Union Free School District Board of Education on Sept. 16 over changes to transportation after the district contracted with the East Hampton Union Free School District for the South Fork route.
Arden Ward, a parent, said routing changes left some students on buses much longer than prior years: "her son is on the bus for seventy (70) minutes," she told the board. Parents said the district moved from two Sunrise-run buses—one serving Ross School and Hayground School and another serving Our Lady of the Hamptons—to a single East Hampton-operated run with different start and dismissal times and language in the contract giving East Hampton control over route changes and transfers.
Superintendent Brian Doelger presented a slide package titled "Bus Route, Ferriage Costs & Legal History for the Shelter Island School District South Fork Route," comparing costs and legal context. Doelger told the board the district faced ferry (ferriage) costs with Sunrise previously—North Ferry $30,700 and South Ferry $39,150 for 2022–23—and that a Sunrise contract including those ferriage charges would have been estimated at $213,279.30 this year. By contrast, the East Hampton contract was originally $124,580 and later adjusted to $181,160 after an additional late return run was added to shorten waits for Our Lady of the Hamptons and Hayground students.
Doelger said the first East Hampton route was "fully compliant with New York State Education Law" and noted a Commissioner of Education finding that a 1½-hour trip in particular situations was not unreasonable; the Commissioner also agreed with the district's mileage calculation method, including treating ferry travel as part of total mileage for transportation eligibility. Doelger summarized that the district had attempted to balance legal requirements, fiscal constraints under a 2% tax cap and parental concerns.
Parents pressed for more timely communication: several said the intermunicipal contract was signed May 13, 2024 and that parents did not receive route details until August 26, 2024. Board President Kathleen Lynch and Doelger responded that the administration would not intentionally withhold information and offered to revisit the route in spring 2025; Board Member Anthony Rando suggested quarterly touchpoints with parents about transportation going forward.
Why it matters: the dispute threads together child safety and student day length, district fiscal constraints and an interdistrict service arrangement that shifts operational control to the vendor district. The board approved an amended intermunicipal agreement with East Hampton on Sept. 16 and administration said it had made adjustments to reduce commute times after parent complaints.
