Ask Mr. Herald Chronicle: A reader expressed concern about changes being made for the places where children in Toledo may board South Tama school busses when classes resume on Wednesday, Aug. 24.

South Tama Schools Superintendent Mary Jones provided this information:

School bus stops are changing for students in Toledo this school year. In an effort to use our public funds efficiently, each year we review our spending. Transportation costs continue to rise each year as our bus fleet ages and costs for fuel and maintenance increase. As you might know STC has bused students to school without reimbursement from the State for many years.

The state regulations create a two-mile walking radius for elementary students and middle school students and a three-mile radius for high school students. For the safety of our STC students living in a community with heavy traffic flow, we adhere to a smaller radius and this creates added costs for district operations. Some of our surrounding districts charge a fee for transporting students inside this 2-mile and 3-mile radius at an average of $250 – $275 per semester.

Four years ago during the economic downfall, the School Board considered busing as a possible cut and savings for the District, but at that time they did not implement the change.

South Tama Supt. Mary Jones

Two years ago, the District eliminated three bus stops in Tama and this year we will eliminate three bus stops in Toledo and consolidate stops in Chelsea and Montour. The wear and tear on buses from stopping and starting frequently will save time and money for our district.

Currently we maintain 21 buses with 13 full time routes and 14 drivers. We have two after-school routes for our elementary students’ tutoring program. We run four mid-day preschool routes and provide an after-school activities bus. We use almost all 20 buses daily to accommodate all routes, activities, and sport travel. Many nights, our handicap bus is the only bus not in use.

We bus nearly 1,200 of our 1,500 students and travel nearly 200,000 miles a year just on daily routes. Our bus stops are placed at locations that best serve student safety, time, and the number of students.

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