SAUGUS — The School Committee on Thursday approved the first budget amendment of fiscal year 2024, funding the cost of a sixth school bus for the district and restoring the position of information technology director.
Exact details on the costs of the amendment were not immediately available Thursday evening but School Committee Chair Vincent Serino estimated the cost of the bus at around $100,000. The amendment allocates “all contractual increases, amend(s) applicable service and good lines for cost increases, and capture(s) all turnovers,” along with funding the bus and the new post.
Acting Superintendent Michael Hashem told The Item last month that the new bus would be funded via money garnered from staff turnovers, which he said provide for recurring funding. Trips on the sixth bus are expected to begin later this month or in November, once the bus company trains a new driver, according to Hashem.
He cautioned that all bus routes may change at that time to “create efficiency in order to maximize capacity.”
Executive Director of Finance and Administration Pola Andrews told the committee Thursday night that the district no longer takes in any substantial sums of money from user fees for the buses because many students live more than 2 miles away from the school they attend. State law requires any school district to provide transportation to school for students who live more than 2 miles away from their school and are in grades K–6. As a result, the user fee does not apply, she said.
The district has discussed the need for a sixth bus for more than a year at this point, with the committee formally requesting the bus last October. At the time, officials said no buses were available. But, with more than 150 students on the waiting list at one point last fall, committee members made it clear that they intended to add to the district’s fleet as quickly as they could.
The IT director position was in place as recently as June 2021, when Devin Menezes served in the role on an interim basis. But, by last fall, the position had been eliminated. Now, according to the district’s website, Menezes is serving as “senior technology engineer.” It seems likely Menezes will fill the director position.
The committee voted unanimously to approve the budget amendment.
