Saratoga CSD navigating its bus driver schedule

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. (NEWS10) -5,745 students take the bus daily to Saratoga Springs City School. It's thanks to just 69 bus drivers but the schedule is proving to be too much.

The district covers 112 square miles and Superintendent Michael Patton says an average bus route includes an hour of driving. There are 71 daily routes. "Ultimately, our goal is to get our kids to school safely and as efficiently as possible. But in our current system, the way that we're set up as a school district, we have daily challenges meeting those needs."

In addition to extracurriculars and alternative education, the district is left about ten to fifteen drivers short. There have been efforts to close that gap.

"Negotiating with our CSEA unit obviously to have pay rates that are going to be competitive both from the recruitment and the retention side of things," explained Dr. Patton. Still, the district can't get back to pre-pandemic numbers: about 85 bus drivers.

It's now looking to optimize the amount of work each driver has to do. "What we currently have is a two-tier system. So all of our high school, middle school kids come in on the same run and then we have a second tier of all six of our elementary schools all starting at the same time and ending at the same time," described Dr. Patton.

Adding a third tier is one of the proposals. High, middle, and elementary school students would be split between three runs arriving and leaving the school an hour apart from each other. Variations of this system are being brainstormed and presented at school board meetings.

School officials are looking for input from the community on different systems. If a new transportation plan is chosen, it will be implemented no earlier than Fall 2025.