EG_School Bus Routes

Policy- EG

School Bus Route Policy

SCHOOL BUS ROUTE POLICY

The school district shall at all times seek to accommodate the wishes and desires of the citizens of the school district in all matters relating to school district bussing to and from school. However, in the interest of economic fairness and in acknowledgement of the responsibility the school district has to operate the student business program in the most reasonable way as possible, the Board of Trustees shall possess the sole authority to make bus route assignments, to determine the size and type of vehicle to be assigned to a route, to determine what roadways shall be used for school vehicle travel, and to make other decisions relating to transporting children to and from school.

General policies and practices to be observed in the management and direction of the school district route bussing operation are as follows:

1.       Vehicles used by the school district to transport children to and from school shall not travel upon a roadway that is not properly maintained by the county, the State of Wyoming, or by a city or town UNLESS:

a.       The Board of Trustees provides specific authorization for a school district owned vehicle to travel upon a private roadway.

b.       The Director of Transportation may direct a vehicle to travel on a private roadway if it is his or her opinion that the safety and well-being of the students would be best served or the best interests of the students and drivers already on the bus would be served if the vehicle leave the roadway to load or unload students or to turn the vehicle around. In conditions such as this, the vehicle shall leave the roadway and travel to the nearest point where students can be safely unloaded or loaded or the bus turned around.

c.       Vehicles such as vans or other similar types of vehicles not permitted to control traffic with appropriate lights or stop arms shall always leave the roadway while loading or unloading students and shall always travel to the point that offers the greatest safety for loading or unloading children from the vehicle.

d.       In situations where vehicles are approved or authorized to leave properly maintained county, state, or city roadways, it shall be the sole responsibility of the family or families being served who live off the approved roadways to ensure the private roadways are maintained in such a way to permit appropriate and proper school vehicle usage. Failure to do so at any time during the school year could result in bus service being discontinued on improperly maintained roadways.

2.       No bus stop shall be maintained for the purpose of loading or unloading children that is less than one mile from the school the child attends or the point where a child may board a bus for riding to and from school unless specific authorization for a bus stop closer than one mile from the school of attendance or bus stop is made by the Board of Trustees.

3.       No individual shall be eligible to receive consideration for receiving isolation payments or a payment for not receiving school bus transportation who does not reside more than one and one half miles from the school his or her children attend or to the point where his or her children could receive school bus service. The Board of Trustees shall have the authority to change or otherwise alter the one and one half mile factor on an annual basis.

4.       In the determination of eligibility for receiving isolation payments and in the calculation of the amount of reimbursement to be made to parents or guardians of students not receiving school bus transportation to and from their home, the Board of Trustees shall be influenced but not restricted by the following formula and rationale.

a.       In the calculation of miles for determining the proper payment, the following shall be observed:

                                                               i.      The mileage shall be the distance from the home of the child to the school of attendance or to the point where school bus service is provided multiplied by four to obtain the daily gross mileage eligibility. From the gross daily mileage, six miles will be subtracted (four one way trips per day multiplied by one and one half miles as outlined in 3) to produce the net daily mileage eligibility.

b.       Isolation Reimbursement

                                                               i.      Private Transportation: Isolation reimbursement will be calculated in accordance with W.S .. 9-3-103 (a) (iii), Transportation Expenses: If private vehicle transportation is used, reimbursement is based on a mileage allowance of not more than twenty-three cents {$.23) per mile as determined by the governor for the state and by the governing body of any other entity.

                                                             ii.      Monthly Maintenance: As defined by State Board Policy EEAA, "Monthly Maintenance" reimbursement is a payment to defray the cost of relocation when an isolated resident pupil and one or both parents find it necessary to move to a temporary residence for school purposes. Prior to providing any allowance for "Monthly Maintenance" every effort will be made by the district transportation director to:

1.       Provide the requisite transportation for the pupil.

2.       Provide mileage reimbursement for isolated pupils. If the school board feels that "Monthly Maintenance" reimbursement is warranted, the follow schedule will apply:

a.       1 -pupil - $95.00 per month

b.       2 pupils - $120.00 per month

c.       3-4 pupils - $145.00 per month

d.       5 or more pupils - $160.00 per month

c.       In the establishment of appropriate reimbursement to be made to a family approved to receive isolation payments, at no time shall the payments made to a family exceed the actual costs of providing private transportation or exceed a total payment of $250.00 per month with prior consent of the Wyoming State Board of Education.

d.       No isolation payment request may be considered that is not on proper isolation forms and completed in proper order with the necessary signatures attesting to the accuracy of the request. Payments for isolation shall be made on a monthly basis with normal distribution of the school district warrant being made within a week of the regular monthly meeting of the Board of Trustees.

5.       It shall be recognized that no geographic area of the school district shall be guaranteed school bus route service on the basis of tradition or historical application. All bus route assignment shall be determined by the Board of Trustees on an annual basis.

6.       In the determination when a school bus route is to be assigned a vehicle with four wheel drive capability, the following factors shall be given careful consideration:

a.       If conditions of the terrain surrounding the appropriate roadway are such that drifting of snow occurs to the extent reasonable road maintenance cannot provide safe and reasonable travel, the assignment of a vehicle with four wheel drive capability can be considered.

b.       If the snow or road conditions of the roadway are the result of inadequate or untimely road maintenance by the subdivision of government responsible for road maintenance, it shall be the responsibility of the citizens living in the area to seek a resolvement to the road maintenance issue before requesting the school district to provide a four wheel drive vehicle on the route. While the school district will cooperate with the affected citizens in resolving the issue, it is the affected patrons who must assume the initiative to resolve the issue of proper roadway maintenance.

c.       In event the matter of proper snow removal or other roadway maintenance cannot be resolved or in the event the director of transportation is of the opinion the risk to the well-being of the students is too great even though a four when drive vehicle would be assigned to the route, the Director of Transportation may recommend to the Board of Trustees that school bus service be withdrawn until roadway conditions improve. Affected parents would be eligible for requesting isolation payments in accordance with provisions for payment of isolation reimbursement.

7.       The Board of Trustees reserves in total the right and responsibility for altering or otherwise amending the bus route policies when conditions or situations suggest the best interests of the citizens or the school district would be best served by altering or amending the policies and procedures for regulating and managing the route bus service.

Adoption date 7/19/89

Amended October 20, 1994