School system tweaking bus routes

At the July 20 board of education meeting, assistant superintendent for support services Dr. Terry Mermann described several money-saving changes in the transportation department that will go into effect this year.’Transportation needed a lot of work,’ said Dr. Mermann. ‘It went without a full time supervisor too long.’The major area of change will be the bus routes.’People were wondering why two buses were coming through the same development so we looked at the routes, numbers of students on buses and road maps,’ Mermann said. ‘We got bus driver input and set up an equitable distribution of routes. We were able to cut two out by combining a couple of 20minute routes in town but we didn’t have to lose any personnel except for those who were due to retire or who went back to school.’Starting a couple of weeks after the first day of school, another change will be made. Instead of stopping at every house, students in developments and neighborhoods will be grouped at bus stops every three or four houses, saving fuel from cutting down constant starting and stopping.