Board weighs athletics bus wrap and debated bus‑routing changes to ease congestion at PVI/PVE

Transportation staff presented two separate but related items: a plan to cost‑share the wrapping of a First Student bus for athletics and field trips, and a broader proposal to alter bus routing at the adjacent PVI and PVE campuses to relieve afternoon traffic congestion.

First Student provided a quote of $6,562 to wrap a bus. The company proposed to dedicate the bus to athletics and non‑home‑to‑school events and asked the district to split the cost; staff said $3,281 could be covered in this year’s transportation budget if the board is willing to place the item on the next agenda. Board members asked for contract language protecting the district if the wrapped bus becomes unusable and for an alternative decision to find a younger vehicle.

On routing, staff described a plan to split combined runs (roughly halving buses sent first to PVI and then to PVE) to reduce the 50–56 buses that currently converge and create congestion on Pulk Township Road. Staff briefed the board on tradeoffs: shorter aggregate run times for most routes but staggered drop‑offs that could alter family pickup windows by 5–12 minutes, possible fuel cost changes, discipline concerns for students waiting on buses, and equity of access for extracurricular trips.

The board asked staff to consult principals, explore pilots or short trials (including gate‑timing and parent pickup scheduling), conduct community outreach and return with options and contract protections before placing any final route or wrap decisions on the agenda.