Bus routes to change with district cuts
By KRISTI PIHL Staff Reporter
Like other areas, transportation in the Stanwood-Camano School District will experience budget cuts next year.
Stops within a one-mile radius of school will be discontinued for middle and high school students where there is a safe walking path of sidewalks and cross walks, said Gary Platt, district executive director of business and operations. Those stops are not funded by the state.
The change will impact around eight bus routes, he said.
Stops for middle and high school students, where the bus travels down a dead-end road a mile or less in length, will also be discontinued, Platt said. Instead, the bus will meet students at the main road.
Buses don't have the same visibility as cars, said Lee Heinrichs, district transportation di- rector. Turning around on dead-end streets can be dangerous, especially if people and other vehicles are in the vicinity.
The state recommends that school districts avoid those types of turns, he said.
However, the district plans to keep the routes intact for elementary students, as they are concerned about the time of day students walk to the stops, Platt said.
The cuts will save about $292,251. The savings will be from lower fuel prices, a reduction in bus driver time and a reduction in operational costs, he said.
Ultimately, the district has tried to preserve classroom teachers and related staff as much as possible, Platt said. Every area has been impacted by cuts.
The district is losing about $3.7 million in state funding next year due to declining enrollment and state cuts, Platt said. Although federal stimulus dollars will fill some of the gap, the district had to make cuts.
The state only funds about 67 percent of the district's transportation budget, he said. Even after cuts, transportation will still cost $994,000 more than state funding.
Hopefully, neighbors can carpool or coordinate walking together to the new stop, Heinrichs said. Also, in some cases, a stop on a different route may be closer to their home.
The district has made changes that preserve safety, Platt said.
The actual bus route plans will be finalized and released mid to late July.
The full list of impacted stops is available online at stanwood. wednet.edu/. The district has also sent out letters.
