In an effort to eliminate overcrowding, shorten bus run times and align with state guidelines, the Pine Bush Central School District has overhauled its bus routes for the 2019-2020 school year.
In July, the district’s Transportation Department sent a letter to all parents informing them that changes would be coming and to keep an eye out for the post card that will follow with details of the new bus stop details. Those cards were sent last week, later than originally planned.
“If parents feel the changes are not safe, I encourage them to complete the Bus Stop Review Form that is posted on our website so we will take a look at that spot,” said Superintendent of Schools Tim Mains. “We are just as concerned with our students’ safety as the parents are. If a stop is deemed unsafe, it will be changed.”
Mains said the changes to the bus routing were done for safety and efficiency.
“We want to make sure that students get to and from school safely and in as short a time as possible,” said Mains. “We consolidated bus stops to shorten ride times and, in order to meet state requirements, had to replace stops on some private roads, dead-end streets and cul-de-sacs.”
Bus Stop Review Form
Any parent or guardian who feels their child’s new bus stop is not safe should go to the district website, www.pinebushschools.org, complete the Bus Stop Review Form and submit it to the transportation supervisor and the superintendent. The review form can be found by clicking here, on the news story about it on the district homepage, or click on the Parent/Community section, then Forms in the right hand column. It can be found under Transportation Forms.
Parents may download it, complete it, scan it and email it to both kurt.wickham@pinebushschools.org and tim.mains@pinebushschools.org. A committee will review each of the requests before making any decision.
No changes to shuttles
Superintendent Mains also noted that the shuttles on both ends of the district that bring students to and from EJR/PBE and CES/PAK for before and after school programs will run as they always have. There will be no changes to the shuttle system.
Bus routes not posted online
Bus routes are not posted on the district’s website for safety reasons, which is in line with the district’s transportation policy and state recommendations. However, parents may log into SchoolTool for their routes.