BCS Administrators Explain Combining PM Bus Routes
By Doug La Rocque
More than 30 Berlin School District residents turned out for a meeting on Tuesday night, August 6 at the Petersburgh Fire House, to hear school administrators explain the dynamics of the decision to combine the Elementary and Middle/High School afternoon bus runs. The School’s Director of Curriculum Instruction & Assessment, Fred Hutchinson started the meeting with a short presentation that highlighted the fact changing the early start time for middle/high schools, was the driving force behind the move. The morning bus runs would remain separate, but middle/high school start time would be pushed back to 7:45 am from the present 7:05 am. Dismissal would now occur at 2:45 pm. The elementary student’s day would be shortened by five minutes in the morning, with the dismissal remaining at 3 pm.
Mr. Hutchinson repeatedly touched on numerous studies that indicate adolescent students do much better, both mentally and educationally, when they are afforded more sleep. Berlin’s previous start time was the earliest in a three county region.
According to Mr. Hutchinson, Berlin is not alone in this merger, noting many districts around the county and the Capital Region have already done so at varying levels.
The change is not without its problems, and the residents in attendance brought many of those concerns to the forefront. Perhaps the largest and most spoken about was the safety of the students on these buses. Mixing students as young as three years of age (Pre-K) with students as old as 19, didn’t sit well with some parents, who feared for the possibility of inappropriate contact (as was the case recently in the Broadalbin School District), the use of foul language and other less than acceptable actions. The fact there will now be more students on a bus in the afternoon, in some cases without a bus aide, brought forth the question about added distractions for the driver, perhaps complicating their ability to drive the bus in a safe and competent manner. One resident asked, “then who is in charge of the students?” The answer is still the bus driver, though the district plans to implement a “Student Ambassador” program, consisting of senior high students, whose job it will be to build relationships with the younger students. Asked specifically by one resident, were the ambassadors there to help keep control, Mr. Hutchinson repeated they are there to build relationships, but ultimately said it is not their role to control things. Asked if there would be a bus aide on each vehicle, Business Manager Karen Capozzi, who also heads the Transportation Department, said no, admitting they are always looking for more bus drivers as well as aides. She did say if certain situations arise where an aide is needed, they would be hired or possibly reassigned.
Mr. Hutchinson also said the students would be layered on the buses, with the most senior in the rear, middle school in the middle and the youngest up front. It was suggested to him perhaps the senior students should be placed in the middle, especially if they were going to be counted on to act as Student Ambassadors. Mr. Hutchinson said that sounded like a good idea.
Several residents asked why the decision to merge the afternoon bus routes was made before there were a series of meetings like the Tuesday night gathering, to which both Mr. Hutchinson and Ms. Capozzi indicated it has been a matter of discussion for several years and that the Board of Education and the School’s management had previously formed a committee to discuss and guide them through the change. It was noted this committee did include several district parents.
Some still thought they had been left out of the decision making process and asked if the Board would be making a final decision at its Tuesday, August 27 meeting. To that, School Superintendent Dr. Stephen Young simply replied, “this is decided, it’s a done deal.” As to whether the Board was supportive of the change, the only member in attendance, Katie Snyder, replied they had discussed the pros and cons at length, and were all in favor.
A number of other concerns were also broached, such as would up to 55 students fit on a bus, particularly in the wintertime when extra layers of clothing are involved, as well as sporting gear and perhaps musical instruments. It was asked if the change would lengthen the already long periods of time some students spend on the bus. Ms. Capozzi said the goal in the rerouting was to keep student bus time to an hour or less. She did admit that hour would start at 3 pm, when the elementary school students start to load, not 2:45 pm, the high school dismissal time. The District has faced the time on the bus challenge for years. Mr. Hutchinson noted that geographically, the Berlin district was either the first or second largest in the State. Another question dealt with an issue that was raised last fall, about larger 55 passenger buses trying to traverse some of the very narrow, one lane roads, such as Weaver Dam in Petersburgh. The students were eventually put back on smaller Suburban style buses. Ms. Capozzi said it would be looked at on a case-by-case basis.
The Eastwick Press spoke with Mr. Hutchinson at length following the meeting. He said the administration “still has some work to do” concerning the route merger, and that “we know we have some more work to do.” He also indicated the questions and concerns raised at the meeting indicate they need to improve their communications with the District residents.