'No-Cost' Bus Plan Vote Elementary, Sayville Officials Say

Come September, Sal Graziano will have to figure out the best way to get his two children to before he heads off to work.

He’ll have one child in kindergarten and another in the third grade, and since he lives less than one mile from the school, only his kindergartener will be eligible for a bus. 

“It’s just an obvious inconvenience,” Graziano said. “You can’t put one on the bus and drive the other to the same school.”

District officials agree, confident that a proposed plan will solve that problematic scenario. And they’re cautiously optimistic that residents will agree too.

Transportation referendums don't have a good track record in Sayville. Assistant Superintendent of Business John Belmonte reminded trustees at a recent board meeting that the district's last four referendums have been defeated. But he’s confident that the district’s latest attempt to change policy will be approved, provided residents understand the price tag: no additional cost.

That’s a good start to breaking a string of four-straight “no” votes. 

“We have had four referendums presented to the community that have failed. Each one has had a cost attached,” Belmonte said. “This one does not.”

Required Distance From Schools Reduced

The district has re-calculated both its incoming and projected enrollments, as well as bus routes, to configure a new plan that will enable them to reduce the distance students in grades 3-5 need to reside from their school in order to qualify for a bus. Currently, those in grades 3-5 need to live one mile or more from their school. But the new plan will reduce that to just one-half mile, the same distance required for K-2 students.

“We have situations with families having, let’s say, a second grader and third grader, where one child is eligible for a bus and the other kid isn’t. We’re looking to unite the elementary grades,” Belmonte said.

One parent who will benefit from the plan is Katie Borruso. The former Sunrise Drive PTA president has children in grades K, 4 and 5 and knows the benefit that this change can bring.

“It’s a major inconvenience for a lot of parents who have to get to work,” she said, speaking on the current policy. “The committee did a thorough job looking at all the aspects to come up with a new plan. They should be thanked for their effort in fixing this situation and everyone should support it.”

If the new policy is approved, approximately 230 additional students in the three elementary schools will receive bus transportation. Currently, 761 elementary school children are eligible for buses. (Approximately 460 middle school and 500 high school students also receive buses. The 1.5-mile minimum distance for students in grades 6-12 will not change with the adoption of this referendum.)

Declining Enrollment a Key Factor

The full-size buses that pick up and drop off students every day have a seating capacity of 66 elementary students. Belmonte estimates that the new policy may increase population on the buses “up to 50-55,” he said. That still leaves nearly 10 percent of seats vacant.

“We do a demographic study every year, and we are seeing a modest decrease in enrollment over the next 10 years,” Belmonte said. “There’s no new properties available to build on in Sayville, and so we don’t foresee a problem [with seating capacity].”

Seating capacity problems don’t even come to mind for Dave Duggan, who puts his twin grandchildren on the bus every morning.

“I see the buses, most of them are half empty,” Duggan said.

Adding students and modifying bus routes will require some adjustments.

“Parents have to be advised that the routes may take a little longer and the buses may be just a bit more crowded,” Belmonte said.

Still, he said, benefits far outweigh any inconveniences. “We constantly get requests from [elementary] parents for their children to get buses. Now is the opportunity to do it.”

Vote Set For May 15

The transportation referendum vote will take place May 15, when residents will also vote on the proposed budget and Board of Trustee candidates.

"We just need to get the word out," Belmonte said. "We've been talking it up at public hearings, through our PTAs, and we encourage parents, especially our elementary parents, to talk it up too."