Schools Could Save $600K on Transportation, Report Says

A committee's analysis of the Paramus school district's transportation program found possible savings of more than $600,000.

The district's transportation committee presented its report on the transportation program to the Monday night at

The 19-member committee comprised school administrators, faculty and staff, as well as a contingent of parents and concerned residents. Its task was to investigate ways the district could save money on its transportation program.

The committee found that the district could save money by changing how its buses are tiered. Currently the district's buses follow a tiered system, in which the high school, middle schools and elementary schools have staggered opening times, allowing the same buses to run three times in one morning.

Because of the tiering system, the district employs at most 20 buses at a time in the morning. However, in the afternoon, all the schools aside from the high school dismiss at 3 p.m., forcing the district to use 33 buses at the same time.

The cost of using one bus three times is much less than using several buses at once, so tiering was an important part of the committee's report. The committee found that the district could save money by changing opening and closing times at certain schools.

The committee also suggested that the district could cut down on courtesy busing. Under state law, districts have to provide busing if students live a certain distance away: 2 miles for grades eight and below; 2.5 miles for grades nine and up.

Currently the district provides busing for elementary students living .75 miles away from their schools, middle school students living 1.25 miles from their schools and high school students living 1.5 miles away. Just 41% of the students who take buses to the district's eight schools live outside of the 2 or 2.5 mile radius required by the state.

The Board of Education could opt to cut all courtesy busing and set up a three-tiered bus schedule, saving $630,000, according to the committee's report, but the consequence would be increases in the number of people walking and driving to school. The committee's report also looked at ways to mitigate traffic at the schools, and at implementing subscription busing, in which the riders left out by cuts to courtesy busing could pay to be bused.

Board President Anthony Feorenzo praised the committee's work and expressed surprise at how much the district spends on transporting 101 out-of-district students: $615,640. Many of those riders are special education students who require a nurse or aide to be on board with them.

Feorenzo said the Board's goal was to implement some of the committee's recommendations in time for the April 27 budget election. For the first time the district's budget will be limited to a 2% growth, which will force the Board members to find ways to control costs.

Check the attached presentation from Monday's meeting for more information.