At the first Board of Education meeting of the 2023-2024 school year, the Board wasted no time addressing the transportation issues many parents and students faced on the first day of school. Many students started the year without a bus assignment or route listed in Genesis.
BOE President Allison Silverstein said, “It was unfortunate that this was an issue even before I was on the Board of Education, I would stand there at that podium, discuss transportation of our students, especially our special education students, and year after year, there are issues.”
Silverstein said her child was one of the students who went without a bus assignment. Superintendent, Dr. Jonathan Ponds, addressed the issue and stated that the district takes full accountability and will not make any excuses for the mishap.
Supervisor of Transportation Sheila Maurice apologized and explained that over the summer the district upgraded their transportation system from Routefinder Pro to Routefinder Plus, and said some of the transportation information did not transfer over from the student’s database to the parent’s. Maurice said parents can expect the issue to be resolved by noon Friday. Next year, Maurice said parents will receive student transportation assignments before September 1.
The Board also approved the first reading of The School Threat Assessment Teams. With this policy, every school in the district will assist faculty and staff to identify students of concern and assess students at risk for engaging in violence or other harmful activities. The threat assessment team is expected to include: a school employee with expertise in student counseling such as a school counselor, school social worker, or school counselor; a teaching staff member; a Principal or other senior school administrator; a school resource offer or school employee who serves as liaison to law enforcement; and the school safety specialist.
The next Board of Education meeting will take place on Monday, September 18.