Riverhead school officials adjust bus routes to ease crowding

Children who ride two crowded Riverhead school buses — one in Wading River and another in Flanders — are being reassigned to different buses to alleviate overcrowding, Schools Superintendent Nancy Carney announced at last night’s school board meeting.

The move comes after two Wading River parents complained to the board on Sept. 9 about crowded conditions aboard the bus that transports their children to Pulaski Street School and the Riverhead Middle School. See prior story.

The administration looked at all bus routes for the schools — whose students ride the same buses — and examined bus capacity and actual ridership, Assistant Superintendent Sam Schneider said during a presentation to board members and the public last night.

Officials found that bus 120 had 64 students assigned to it but an actual ridership of 52 students on the morning run. Another morning bus route in Wading River had 42 students assigned to it but only 24 actual riders, Schneider said. Some of bus 120’s stops were reassigned to the other bus route to even out ridership numbers on the two buses and alleviate crowding. That change went into effect on Monday, he said.

A similar situation was discovered in Flanders, Schneider said. There was a bus wit 63 children assigned to it and an actual ridership of 62; another nearby route had only 33 students assigned to it and an actual ridership of 25. Those bus routes are also being changed to even out ridership and alleviate crowding, Schneider said. The Flanders route changes will take effect on Monday, Sept. 29, he said.

The district’s 63 large buses have a rated capacity of 66 child passengers and 44 adult passengers. Child passengers can sit three to a seat; each seat has three seat belts. But many children who attend the Pulaski and middle schools — in grades 5 through 8 — are adult size, parents Doreen Moore and Allyson Mattwey told the board at its last meeting. They cannot fit three to a seat and on many mornings, there were no seats available on bus 120. Children rode to school sitting on the floor in the aisle, they said —in violation of district and state regulations.

Schneider said last night that if the district were to cap bus capacity at 44 for grades 5 through 12, it would need to purchase 10 additional buses at a cost of just under $1.5 million; new large buses cost about $104,000 each. The district would also need to hire 10 new drivers, Schneider pointed out. Ultimately, the school board needs to decide if it is prepared to spend that kind of additional money, he said.

The district regularly replaces buses in its 102-vehicle fleet on a scheduled basis, Schneider noted. Its buses logged 1.4 million miles last year, he said.

“It’s a very large district,” Carney said.

Board president Greg Meyer thanked Moore and Mattwey for bringing the issue to the attention of the board. In turn, Moore thanked the district for its action.

“It was about bus safety,” she said, adding that she had surmised the Wading River bus was not “an isolated situation.”

At the conclusion of his presentation, Schneider made what he called “a shameless plug.” The district is looking to hire additional substitute bus drivers, he said.

Applicants need a valid and clean N.Y. state CDL Class B driver’s license; air brake, passenger school bus endorsements are preferred. Applicants must be physically able to pass mandatory NYS driver physical performance test. Employment is on an on-call basis with flexible shifts. Wages: $20.14 per hour. Substitute positions may lead to permanent employment. Interested persons should send a letters of interest to Arlene Durkalski, director of personnel, Riverhead Central School District, 700 Osborn Avenue, Riverhead NY 11901. RCSD will assist applicants with mandatory NYSED fingerprint clearance.

Correction: A previously published version of this story incorrectly stated the hourly rate as $20 per hour.