Portland district proposes hub model to cut Access Academy bus routes, trim ride times and save about $1 million

Portland Public Schools transportation staff on Tuesday presented a plan to overhaul busing for Access Academy, the district's TAG program, proposing a shift from 10 citywide, dedicated buses to five school‑hub routes that district modelers say would be faster and cheaper.

Brandon Kunrod, the district's senior director of student transportation, said the proposed hub model would consolidate stops to 13 school locations and raise the average load per bus from about 23 riders to roughly 46. "We're only averaging about 23 students on those buses," Kunrod said in the presentation. "This brings our average riders to about 46 students per bus." He added that average route time would fall from about 71 minutes now to about 33 minutes under the proposal.

Nut graf: Supporters of Access — parents, students and the school PTA — told the board during the public comment period that district busing is essential to keeping many families in the program. District leaders said the hub model is an initial proposal, not a final decision; staff plan hybrid public meetings next week and expect to return to the board with revised options on June 9.

District officials framed the model as a response to both equity and budget pressure. Superintendent Armstrong said the proposal is part of a multi‑step process that balances ridership, route time and safety. The plan aims to meet targets staff set for a maximum route time (about 40 minutes) so buses can serve multiple schools and avoid being dedicated solely to Access routes.

Access families pushed back in public comment. Jonathan Pulver, chair of the Access PTA advocacy committee, told the board the transportation system is "an educational life‑or‑death decision for many Access families" and urged the district to preserve access to the program for single‑parent and low‑income households.

Staff acknowledged tradeoffs. Kunrod said the model concentrates stops at school sites (many K–8 or middle schools) and would prioritize keeping CSI/TSI and Title‑I stops where possible. The district plans to support families who cannot reach a hub stop through a combination of safe‑routes work, community carpool tools and partnership with parent volunteers, staff said.

Ending: District staff told the board they will gather family feedback at a hybrid meeting in early June, refine routing and funding details, and present a revised option back to the board for consideration on June 9. No board vote on the hub model was scheduled at Tuesday's meeting.