Milford buses running nearly disruption free so far
Unlike so many districts throughout the state and nation, city schools have not experienced any major student transportation disruptions this year, according to district officials.
James Richetelli, MPS chief operations officer, details the number of students transported to all schools and number of routes required to the Board of Education Monday, while also praising the efforts of the Durham School Services for leading this early school year success.
“At the beginning of school, you read the headlines that there was a bus driver shortage, not only here in the state of Connecticut, but throughout the United States,” Richetelli said.
“We didn’t have any disruptions because Durham had a full staff of drivers,” he added. “That was due to some proactive things Durham did last year like they went out and recruited drivers. As a district, we made sure we supported those drivers throughout COVID, by paying their salaries.”
Milford transports 3,815 students daily to 14 public schools, two parochial schools and four technical/ vocational/magnet schools.
The two parochial schools MPS provides transportation to are St. Mary’s and Lauralton Hall. The other four are Platt Tech, Trumbull Voag, Bridgeport Aquaculture and Education Center for the Arts in New Haven.
“In addition, the transportation system includes in and out of district special transportation which is specific to the student's needs as is outlined in their IEPs (Individualized Education Plan),” Richetelli said. “We utilize approximately 62 buses and vans, 40 for regular education and 22 for special education. There are 105 bus runs, and 963 bus stops on a daily basis.”
Out of the 3,815 students bused daily, 1,061 are from the high schools, 1,017 from the middle schools, 1,489 from the elementary schools, and 297 from the parochial/tech schools.
“The core team at Durham has been the same team since I’ve been here at Milford Public Schools for the last 10 years, and even prior to that,” he said. “We really do look at them as being an extension of the Milford Public Schools staff, and they think of themselves as being part of this Milford Public School community.”
Over the past three years, the cost per bus has gone up from $52,434 in 2019-20, $54,007 in 2020-21 and $55,627 in 2021-22.
“We have a contract with the board voted on, and it is a three percent increase per year, and those dollar amounts represent the cost per bus with the three percent increase each year,” Richetelli said. “We have a perday per bus cost, and the cost I have here is an annual cost, so it’s taking the cost per bus, per day, times 181 days.”
As far as COVID-19 protocols go, Richetelli said the way they ended last year is the way they started this year. Students had to wear masks, zone seating, assigned seats (where practicable), windows open (when possible), attendance taken by the bus driver for contract tracing and more.
“We do have an automated system of attendance that is very much in the works, and our employees have been training on the new system,” he said. “Because of the supply train shortages you have been hearing about, not all of the equipment is in yet, but we hope by Thanksgiving, we will have an automated attendance system on every bus.”
The number of students riding a bus is getting back to the number of students riding a bus during a normal year, and Richetelli, credits that to parents being more confident in sending students on the buses.
When it comes to the efficiency of picking up students, Richetelli said is tied in directly to the time of the schools.
“Our school start times allow for a 40-minute window in between each level, and that’s important because it used to be a 30-minute time in between, and the time in between has a direct result on the efficiency of the school bus system,” he said. “Those 10 extra minutes, we can make that many more stops, and we can go further. That 40minute window is the limitation on how many students we can pick up.”
One of the newer programs, the board instituted was the Opt-In program, for students who are within the walking distance guideline, and would be ineligible for student transportation can take the bus to school.
“Basically, if there is room on the bus, and there is a stop near a student's house, they can get to that stop and provided the bus doesn't have to make detours in any way, the student can get assigned to that bus,” Richetelli said. “We take applications, and we look at buses and routes.”
For the 2021-22 school year, a total of 45 students are taking part in the Opt-In program, an increase of five students from the 2020-21 school year.
“Despite the challenges that COVID has presented to us on the transportation system, we did get off to a smooth start again this year,” said Richetelli.