Study Group suggests district should consider sharing transportation facility

   Sharing the new Fort Plain Central School District transportation facility with other districts in the region is just one of the many suggestions given to the Board of Education by Transportation Advisory Services (TAS) in June.

The district hired the Walworth-based TAS in January to review district-operated transportation services in the areas of facility use, finances, fleet, personnel, maintenance, management, policy, and bus routes. TAS completed the study in April.

“We wanted to examine all of our options and continue to look for ways to streamline costs,” said Superintendent Douglas C. Burton. “We have a new state-of-the-art transportation facility and that could be very attractive if other districts in the area consider consolidating services.”

For the third straight year, Fort Plain is contracted to provide maintenance to the four buses from the St. Johnsville Central School District. All of the buses are housed in the 15,850-square-foot bus garage, which was part of the $17 million capital project approved by voters in Feb. 2008.

TAS is also conducting a regional study with Fort Plain and eight other school districts in Herkimer, Fulton, and Montgomery region that will examine the consolidation of local school district transportation services. Started in July, the one-year pilot study will examine ways to get around state laws that block regionalized transportation efforts by area schools.

The study includes: St. Johnsville Central School, Northville Central School, Greater Johnstown School, Mayfield Central School, Edinburg Common School, Gloversville Enlarged School, Greater Amsterdam School, and Broadalbin-Perth Central School.

The study will cost each district about $2,500, but 90 percent will be reimbursed through state aid. It will cost Fort Plain a minimal charge to participate according to TAS, because the group can use the data from the initial study.

HFM BOCES Superintendent Patrick Michel has said the study could result in two or three regional transportation hubs. He said districts such as Fort Plain could benefit from bringing in nearby districts.

First study findings

In the study TAS concluded in April, the group offered nine observations/recommendations for the district in the financial area. The group noted that the district should be “sensitive to the possibility that transportation aid rates may be impacted by the overall aid decreases to school districts and various aspects of the Governor’s budget proposal.”

Other recommendations across the categories included

• Conducting an on-going review of the number and features of the spare buses

• Installing cameras on all vehicles

• Focusing on driver training on various discipline control issues

• Eliminating overtime for employees

• Continuing service to the St. Johnsville Central School District

Observations included

• The district is apparently understaffed in the maintenance area

• The challenging geography of the district makes routing efficiencies difficult to achieve

•  The department should be commended for its outstanding DOT inspection history

• The fuel facility is small and effectively precludes sharing