SAUGUS — As the Saugus School Committee continues its deep dive into spending, the athletic account has been mentioned multiple times as a concern after the committee was told expenses were outpacing revenue.
One of the questions posed to Superintendent Mike Hashem concerned transportation, specifically athletics. He called Athletic Director Matt Serino up during a committee meeting to explain his plan.
“He reviewed the cost of minibuses that would hold more people. So, it would be more valuable to use for certain programs,” Hasham said.
Serino said he got prices for 14-passenger minibuses, which can seat a driver and 14 athletes.
“Really with the exceptions of indoor track, wrestling, boys soccer, girls soccer, football, cheer, and outdoor track, all of our sports can utilize it,” he said, adding that varsity and junior varsity would need to split into two buses for sports like basketball.
He said that purchasing the minibuses might take time to build back up, but it would still be a cost-saving switch.
“We’re averaging out $550 per bus every trip. That’s our average. If we were to get coaches to drive, obviously it’s free of charge. If we were to get drivers, you’re looking at a max of $150 per minibus,” he said.
Serino explained that one minibus with a paid driver would still save them $400, while two minibuses would save them $250.
“And it could be utilized with our other field trips throughout the day. It could be utilized with our life skills class. It could be utilized for field trips after school … It doesn’t have to just be athletics. It can be used for a multitude of things,” he said.
Hashem said the price of the 14-passenger minibus was $108,000.
“If you looked at it, it might not be a year one savings, but if it’s a year four or five savings, it’s kind of a good pitch to the town to say, ‘Hey, there’s a little bit of an upfront cost that we’d probably need some help with, but longer term, we could maybe save some money,'” committee member Brian Doherty said.
Doherty said in July that Youth and Rec could use the minibuses to save money, too.
“If it’s not being used by the schools, it’s a town asset,” he said.
Committee Vice Chair Stephanie Mastrocola asked whether Serino thought a majority of the coaches would drive, and Serino said it would probably be split down the middle, with some needing training to get comfortable.
