Some parents of Barrington students were a bit surprised when it appeared that their sons and daughters would not be eligible to ride the bus to the middle school this year.
A preliminary …
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Some parents of Barrington students were a bit surprised when it appeared that their sons and daughters would not be eligible to ride the bus to the middle school this year.
A preliminary copy of the school bus routes in Barrington reportedly showed the elimination of stops for students living within two miles of the middle school.
But while state law may have allowed for the change, district officials quickly realized that parents were not going to accept it without a fight.
Within a few days, a second version of the bus stop schedule was released and included many of the prior stops.
"No one will be denied transportation," said Michael Messore, the superintendent of schools in Barrington. "We get our database from Ocean State (Transit bus company). But the initial database wasn't totally accurate."
Mr. Messore said the district has been working to find efficiencies in the bus routes — officials have been trying to consolidate stops in an effort to shorten run times and back up early morning pickups. Mr. Messore said some of the stops in the finalized schedule have been consolidated, but the district has not eliminated any established routes.
"Some of the bus routes have stops under the two-mile range, but we kept the stops because of safety concerns," said Mr. Messore.
For example, some students who live in the Hampden Meadows area of town reside within two miles of the middle school but would face a somewhat challenging route to walk or bike to school: The White Church Bridge is under construction and a portion of Federal Road does not have a sidewalk.
"The last thing we want to do is create more anxiety for students and parents," Mr. Messore said.
The superintendent said the finalized bus stop schedule — a full version is included on pages 13 to 16 — shows some positive changes. Many of the routes' first pickups for high school and middle school students are not until after 7 a.m., and many of the run times are under 30 minutes.
For more than a year, officials have been working to reducing run times which had, on some buses, run upwards of an hour. They had also been aiming to delay the early morning pickups; one route had its first pickup at 6:25 last year.
"We'll still be working on these (routes) for the first couple weeks," said Mr. Messore. He added that travel times and pickups may be altered by traffic conditions and other factors.
Opt-out?
On Aug. 9, Barrington Superintendent of Schools Michael Messore sent a letter to parents sharing the district's plan for a bus transportation opt-out program.
"The opt-out program applies to eligible families that are considering not utilizing bus service either to or from school," stated the letter. "Knowing this information will help up optimize travel time on the routes, identify appropriate bus stops, and provide more consistent and efficient service."
The letter included instructions on how people could opt-out.
What the policy states
Transportation School Committee Policy EEAA: "All pupils attending grades K-5 residing in the Town of Barrington who live more than three quarters of a mile from the school attended and all pupils attending grades 6-12 residing in the Town of Barrington who live more than two miles from the school attended are entitled to transportation.
"Distances will be determined according to the shortest route by traveled road and/or paved public sidewalk. Bus routes will be established so that an authorized bus stop is available for eligible students at a walking distance from their home of no more than the distances contained in paragraph one.
"Exceptions to the foregoing shall be determined in the light of all factors, including circumstances of safety and the physical condition, or other special needs of the child.
"The School Committee shall provide transportation in accordance with the law to Barrington residents attending private and parochial schools."