ST. LUCIE COUNTY — School transportation officials saved almost $3 million last year by consolidating bus routes and changing school bell times.

Marty Sanders, executive director of growth management for the district, told board members Tuesday night the district hopes to continue saving money by trimming bus routes and eliminating additional buses.

During the 2008-2009 school year, about $2.77 million was reduced from the transportation budget over the previous school year, Sanders said.

About 40 buses were eliminated in the school year with the bell schedule changes that staggered classes, Sanders said.

The district’s 3-year-old automated vehicle locator program also helped to re-evaluate bus routes, shaving off about 3,945 minutes of bus time each day, he said.

Every minute the district can cut off a bus route saves about $150, Sanders said.

“It adds up to real money very rapidly,” he said.

Last school year, about 600 courtesy stops — stops for children who live within two miles of a school — were eliminated, he said. However, hazard stops, for students who live within the two miles but who have to cross a busy road or have a safety issue, were added, he said.

Board members said they did not get many complaints from parents, despite the changes.

Board member Troy Ingersoll said parents need to realize that the district spends about 10 percent of the district’s operating budget just to get a child to class.

Sanders said the district hopes to continue saving money in transportation costs. Last month, officials discussed a plan to save about $900,000 in transportation expenses in 2009-2010, mostly by consolidating school bus stops for about 2,200 students of four magnet schools and by eliminating long-distance bus service for students of a fifth magnet school.

The district is also considering cutting an additional 40 buses for the upcoming school year, Sanders said.

By Colleen Wixon

Tags: budget, business, child, children, cuts, money, parents, roads, safety, Schools, students, transportation

This entry was posted on Wednesday, July 15th, 2009 at 10:00 am and is filed under Economy, Schools, St. Lucie County, Traffic. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.