Access families press board to preserve school buses as district previews hub model to save $1 million

Dozens of parents, students and advocacy leaders packed the Portland Public Schools board meeting on May 26 to press the district to preserve bus service to Access Academy, arguing transportation is essential to keep academically accelerated students enrolled and to preserve equitable access.

At public comment, several parents and students described long bus rides and heavy dependence on school buses. “If the buses were cut, most of them will have to go back to their old schools where the old schools probably won't have what the students were learning,” Charles McInness, a student speaker, told the board. Jonathan Pulver, chair of Access PTA advocacy, called reinstating transportation “an educational life‑or‑death decision” for families who rely on the service and urged the board to collaborate with Access families on lower‑cost scenarios.

Why it matters: Access Academy draws students from across Portland; many families said losing buses would make the program inaccessible to single‑parent and low‑income households and would tilt enrollment toward families who can drive. Parents described mental‑health and social‑development harms if students are forced back to neighborhood schools that they said do not provide comparable programming.

District transportation staff responded with a draft operational proposal that would move Access from a set of long, dedicated routes toward a hub model. Senior Director for Student Transportation Brandon Kunrod said the current program runs 10 citywide routes with 125 stops and averages about 23 students per bus, producing an average ride time of roughly 71 minutes. The district’s proposed option would consolidate service into five hub routes and 13 school stops, move many stops to existing schools, raise average riders to roughly 46 per bus, and cut the average ride time to about 33 minutes. Kunrod said the change would produce roughly $1 million in operating savings before state reimbursement.

District next steps and debates: Superintendent Armstrong and staff said they will host a hybrid community meeting for Access families and bring refined options back to the board for consideration in early June; staff emphasized they do not intend to finalize changes without further engagement. Supporters of the hub option said it reduces travel time and operating cost while keeping a bus option districtwide; critics warned that moving to hubs could shift the burden to families who cannot reach stops and urged the district to preserve dedicated routes or add mitigations such as shuttle or walking‑bus programs.

Representative quotes:
“Average ride time right now is 71 minutes per route… the proposed model brings average ride time down to 33 minutes per route.” — Brandon Kunrod, Senior Director, Student Transportation.
“Reinstatement would signal that PPS is serious about supporting TAG students even in hard budget years.” — Jonathan Pulver, Access PTA advocacy chair.

What to watch: District staff said they will return with a community‑informed proposal and specific trade‑offs and cost lines; the board asked for clear documentation of impacts to Title I and Special Education students and for details on supports (safe‑routes coordination, shuttle pilots, and community carpooling) the district would provide if hubs are adopted.