SOUTH COLONIE CENTRAL SCHOOL DISTRICT

102 Loralee Drive

Albany, NY 12205
Phone: (518) 869-3576
Fax: (518) 869-6517
www.southcolonieschools.org

Jonathan W. Buhner
Superintendent of Schools

DATE:

February 10, 2015

TO:

South Colonie Board of Education Members

FROM:

Jonathan Buhner, Superintendent

RE:

2015-2016 Transportation Systems Recommendation

As you are aware, over the last few years the District has been working diligently to find ways to
maximize efficiency in non-instructional areas in an effort to protect key academic programming.
As a part of this effort, the District was involved in a Transportation Advisory Services Study which
recommended that we explore ways to move toward a more efficient transportation plan. One of the
major recommendations from this study is as follows:
Although modifying the bell times is a difficult process, the demographic changes that have
occurred in the past 20+ years should be considered with a detailed review of options to
increase the time between dismissals. (TAS Report, Page 4, Section 3)
Pursuant to a charge to explore options, we are recommending the following transportation schedule
effective for Fall of 2015:

School
Colonie Central High School
Arrival 5 minutes earlier

Lisha Kill Middle School

Arrival 15 minutes earlier/Departure 15 minutes earlier

Sand Creek Middle School

Arrival 15 minutes later/Departure 15 minutes later

Forest Park Elementary School

Arrival 30 minutes later/Departure 35 minutes later

Bus Arrival

Bus Departure

7:10 am

2:10 pm

8:00 am

2:45 pm

8:00 am

2:45 pm

9:11 am

3:25 pm

Roessleville Elementary School

9:11 am

3:25 pm

Saddlewood Elementary School

9:11 am

3:25 pm

Shaker Road Elementary School

9:11 am

3:25 pm

9:11 am

3:25 pm

Arrival 30 minutes later/Departure 35 minutes later

Veeder Elementary School

* = No change

Why we are recommending this adjustment:

In September of 2013, the District received a report from Transportation Advisory Services and a
key recommendation was modifying bell times as indicated on Page 4, Section 3 (see above). The
full report is posted on the Districts website.

The District has maintained the same transportation schedule for the last 24 years and many things
have changed, including roads, traffic flow, the number of bus runs, etc. Simply put, the old
schedule does not align well to current conditions. Some of our late elementary school students
arrive home at 4:30 pm or later as the windows between runs and current arrival times are
unrealistic.

According to the proposal, all South Colonie Elementary Schools would follow a common
schedule. This will assist the District with scheduling and sharing resources. Also, both Middle
Schools will follow a common schedule allowing for the same benefit.

Larger windows of time in between runs created by three transportation tiers instead of four allows
for more efficient route planning. Future enrollment projections may allow for planned route
consolidation and possibly restoration of runs related to academic intervention and enrichment.

2015-2016 District Enrollment Projection:

2019-2020 District Enrollment Projection:

4,931
4,665

Feedback from Community Meetings:

We recommend shifting late day monitor support resources to the two Elementary Schools who will
experience the largest schedule changes. The District would plan on having monitor support available
at 8:45 am for parents who wish to drop their Elementary children off on the way to work.