Saugus board so far stymied in bus efforts

SAUGUS – The school district?s Transportation Subcommittee has not yet been able to find a way to provide busing for students in grades 7-12, even if their parents are willing to pay for it, according to School Committee and Transportation Subcommittee member Arthur Grabowski.Under this year?s plan, busing will be provided for no cost only for students in K-6 who live more than two miles away from their school, according to Grabowski.The school district provided four buses last year at a total cost of $200,000, but any parents who paid a $350 fee could get their child bused to school regardless of grade or distance, Grabowski said. This year, however, the School Committee figured it would need at least 60 parents to pay an $800 fee just to provide a third bus.But Grabowski said 13 parents signed up to pay the increased fee before the deadline expired.?That?s just not going to cut it,” said Grabowski. “We will be revisiting this at the subcommittee meeting on Thursday. We?re really up against the gun in trying to find alternatives.”If the subcommittee can?t come up with an alternative, parents will have to find ways to get their kids to their school if they live less than two miles away from it.Some of the ideas brought up at the last meeting two weeks ago included regional bus stops and parents or businesses supporting an extra bus.Grabowski brought up the idea of redistricting in a phone interview on Friday, which would reorganize enrollments at the town?s four elementary schools.?It would appear to me that we might have to do some redistricting of school lines next year,” said Grabowski. “I think it?s time we take a long, hard look. If we?ve got people that live in Saugus Commons that are going to the Oaklandvale School, it?s probably closer for them to be going to the Waybright School.”School Committee Chair Wendy Reed said redistricting is already on the “to-do” list for the next year or two, but a host of new principals at the elementary level could make that process difficult, since they would need to be familiar with the schools.?We?re looking at redistricting anyway,” said Reed. “It?s just such a large process. You really need experienced principals on board for a while and we have some new principals ? “Grabowski said redistricting is a long and complicated process that would take up to a year to complete. Because of that, it wouldn?t have any affect on busing for the upcoming school year.Even so, Grabowski said, it won?t completely solve the busing issue and would only affect the four elementary schools.?Every kid from the seventh grade on that goes to Waybright and the high school still has to walk based on the recommendation that we?re dealing with now,” said Grabowski. “It would certainly help the younger kids.”Reed, however, said redistricting would really only affect class size, and the way schools are spread out, students would still find themselves walking long distances to get to class.?Lynnhurst and Oaklandvale are set up so far apart, no matter how you redistrict, kids are going to have a long distance to go,” said Reed. “The Vets and the Waybright are within a mile of each other. Unless you?re going to move the schools around, it doesn?t look like you?ll be able to achieve anything.”The Transportation Subcommittee will meet at 4 p.m. on Thursday at the Roby School followed by a 7 p.m. School Committee meeting.