Dear Parent or Guardian:
In preparation for the 2024-25 school year, the South Glens Falls Central School District Transportation Department is requesting that families submit changes for their child’s bus routes.
If you are planning to make changes to your child’s transportation plans (for example, childcare arrangements), you must notify the transportation department NO LATER THAN AUG. 1, 2024. To inform the district of changes, please fill out the form using THIS LINK.
All families will receive a letter in August that details your child’s final bus schedule for the start of the school year.
Because of the volume of changes we receive, we cannot guarantee that changes submitted after AUG. 1, 2024, will be made by the first week of school. Please also be aware that your child’s pickup or drop-off time depends on the students who are picked up before your child. The earlier we receive change information, the sooner we can ensure our bus routes are accurate. Parents with students moving from 5th to 6th grade, please refer to section 2d regarding the walk distance on the back of this letter.
Please be aware that our buses can only transport students within the zone of the elementary school that they attend. Child care must be within the appropriate elementary school zone for the district to provide transportation.
Included in this letter is board policy 8411-R: School Bus Scheduling and Routing. Please read through this policy carefully. School walking zones are outlined in this policy, along with other important information. Because of the shortage of drivers the state is currently facing, it is even more essential that we receive the most up-to-date information in a timely manner. Also, for next year, we will not be accepting any requests for special transportation or requests that go against this policy. Special transportation for our special needs students will continue to be arranged with that department.
We appreciate your partnership in this system. In order to improve communications between our transportation department and families, we will be adding a secretary that will be charged with our communications system and will let families know if buses are running late throughout the year. We hope this added staff improves the timeliness of these calls.
Thank you,
Fred Strassburg
Director of Transportation and,
Kevin Fottrell
Assistant Superintendent for Business
Regulation 8411-R SUBJECT: SCHOOL BUS SCHEDULING AND ROUTING
Bus routes will be established under the direction of the Superintendent of Schools in cooperation with the District Transportation Supervisor.
Limitations: Bus routes will be established, to the extent possible, so that no elementary, intermediate, or high school student spends more than 75 minutes, nor any student with a disability spends more than 120 minutes on a bus from the time of loading to the time of discharge. (The district goal for student travel time is 60 minutes.) Authorized bus stops will be located at convenient intervals in places where students may be loaded and unloaded, cross highways, and await the arrival of buses with the safety allowed by road conditions.
Fixed Stops: Fixed bus stops will be established using the following guidelines:
Generally, dead-end and loop streets will not be serviced by school buses. Whenever possible, stops will be at the intersections of two streets;
Numbers of students at bus stops will be varied according to the concentration of riders in an area, the degree of traffic, the presence of stop signs, speed limits, and bus turn-around requirements;
The maximum of 25 students at a stop will be acceptable only where there is adequate waiting space away from heavy traffic areas. Approximately 10 to 15 students will be the usual number scheduled for pickup at any one point;
Walking distances to pick-up points may be varied according to grade level. Grade levels 1-5 will not be required to walk distances in excess of 1/2 mile and grades 6-12 will not be required to walk distances in excess of 1 mile;
Kindergarten children will be picked up and left at their places of residence (unless the school district and parents mutually agree to other stop(s)); and
An effort will be made to minimize crossing of the road by students.
Side Roads: Transportation will be provided on side roads that are maintained by town highway departments unless the lack of maintenance makes it unsafe for drivers and students to be traversing these roads. Examples of unsafe conditions are flooding, road erosion, ice, snow and mud.
Private Roads: Transportation will not be provided on highways that have not been dedicated and/or maintained by town, county, and/or state highway departments.
Turnarounds: Turnarounds will not be established unless adequate space is available and this space is properly maintained.
Major Highways: Transportation service will be provided to residents living along major highways.
District Map: Maps will be used to determine the transportation requirements necessary to satisfy the needs established by state law, Board policy, and voter mandate. This map will clearly show student location, loading and unloading locations, and routes traveled. The map will be reviewed annually.
Adoption date: August 18, 2014
South Glens Falls