The 157 city school students who live more than a mile and a half from their schools could soon have the option of riding a bus.
Currently, bus transportation isn't offered to students who live within the city boundaries, but the proposal should change the policy.
The district contracts with Student Transportation of America for bus transportation. Under the proposal, BTA will conduct two pick-ups and two drop-offs at designated locations in the city.
Currently, the buses only do one run and pick-up all of the kids on the first pass.
“We’re paying for time that we aren’t using,” Business Administrator Scott Rozanski said.
The Board was hopeful that the change for transportation would solve concerns that have been raised.
“This would limit the number of students who have to walk well over two miles,” Rozanski said. “They could just walk to their pick-up and then come directly to the high school."
“Ideally, no student will have to walk more than half of a mile to their pick-up destination,” Superintendent Christopher J. Dailey added.
Safety would increase due to less traffic on State Street. Attendance at the high school is expected to improve during the winter when parents might keep their kids at home in bad weather.
The transportation change will be conducted within the parameters of the current contract with Student Transportation of America. There will be no additional cost to the budget or the taxpayers.
The Board of Education thanked Rozanski for his effort to solve the transportation issue Batavia High School has had for several years.
The proposed increased transportation will be added to the ballot which goes to voters on May 19.
