Ridership down, but higher than expected on city’s school buses
MILFORD — School bus ridership i s l ower t han it was l a st year, but st i l l above t he proj e c t i ons a s parents a r e more comfortable than expected putt i ng t he chi l dren on buses, ac - c or di ng t o s chool s Chief Operations Off i c e r Ji m Richet e l l i .
Richet e l l i gave a det a i l e d bri e f i ng about t he c it y’s s chool t r a nsportat i on t o t he Board of E ducati on t hi s week.
“People f e e l c omfortable wit h t he prot ocol s t hat we put i nt o pl ac e, ” Richet e l l i s a i d. “They f e e l c omfortabl e t hat t he di st r i c t i s r e a l ly watchi ng out f or t he heal t h a nd s a f e t y of t he ki ds on t he bus. ”
According t o t he s chool di st r i c t ,
3 , 81 3 st udents e ach day r i de 62 buses and vans to 14 public and two parochi a l s chool s , plus f our r e gi onal technical and magnet schools. The c it y c ont r ac t s wit h I l l i no i s- based Durham School Ser vices for its t r a nsportat i on.
One area where student numbers have dropped s i nce l a st year i s t he opt-in program, where students who a r e not e l i gib l e f or t he bus because t hey l ive t oo cl os e t o s chool , c a n be opt e d ont o a bus, s pace a l l owing. For hi gh s chool , a ny st udent l iv i ng wit hi n 1 . 5 mile s of s chool i s not e l i gib l e t o ride a bus. For middle and elementar y s chool s , it i s 1 mile.
This year the school board was abl e t o pl ac e a l l 2 5 st udents who opt - e d i n. Last year t here were 82 opt- i n st udents.
Richet e l l i s a i d t hat i s a r e fl e c t i on t hat more parents a r e driv i ng t hei r chi l dren t o s chool t hi s year t han i n previ ous year s .
The cost of r unning school buses i ncreased 3 perce nt t o $ 5 4,0 07 per r oute over l a st year due t o a c ont r ac t - ed increase. The COVID-19 pandemic t hat cl os e d s chool s i n March l a st year saved the city some money, although Durham School Ser vices continued to pay drivers and monitors a perc e nt age of t hei r s a l a r i e s duri ng t he pandemic.
Richet e l l i s a i d Gov. Ned Lamont’s e xec ut ive or ders r e qui r e d Milf or d Public Schools to reach agreements wit h it s c ont r ac t or s t o “e nsure, a s much a s f e a s ib l e, t o pay f or t he e mpl oyees of our c ont r ac t or s , our bus
drive r s , a nd t o avo i d short ages of drive r s , ” a s well a s t he c ont i nuit y of ser vice when reopening.
“So we reached an agreement with Durham (the school bus provider) t hat we pai d 75 perce nt of t he c ost of the contract from March through Ju ne, ” he s a i d.
Richet e l l i prai s e d Durham’s s e r - vi c e duri ng t he pandemic l a st year, and for the company’s planning over the summer for the current school year.
For example, bus monitors have addit i onal r ol e s t hi s year a s t he st at e
recommends they be responsible for ensuring students on buses are weari ng masks a nd a r e s it t i ng i n t hei r desi gnate d s e at s . This i s e s s e nt i a l f or c ont ac t t r ac i ng i n t he eve nt a st udent i s c onfi r med t o have c ont r ac t e d COVID- 19. Monitors a l s o a r e r e s ponsibl e f or t a ki ng at t e ndance on t he bus, Richit e l l i s a i d.
“That was one of the the things that our health department was ver y, ver y adamant about,” he said. “That we have ac c urat e at t e ndance s o t hat we c oul d t r ac e ver y qui ckly i f we needed t o. ”