Superintendent of Gorham Schools Heather Perry sent a letter to parents recently making them aware of the School Committee’s decision to make changes to the Transportation Policy for the 2018-19 school year.
The changes were made to address two key issues facing the school district: student safety and lack of capacity. Perry cited that due to limited time in the day and a limited sized bus fleet, it is difficult to meet the requests for alternative stops made by parents on a daily basis, which can be as many as 150 changes to bus stops each day.
“It is becoming a growing safety concern,” said Perry. “We have already had circumstances within which students have gotten on the wrong buses, or been dropped off at the wrong locations.”
In addition, with the increasing student population and the daily changes to student pick-up and drop-off points, the transportation department found that they were in a position of being able to potentially allow only some pick-up and drop-off changes while not being able to honor those of others due to potential overcrowding of buses.
“This is not an equitable situation for all students and families,” said Perry. “In order to address these two key concerns, the School Committee has voted to change our Transportation Policy and to limit the number of pick-up and drop-off points allowed.”
Students in K-12 will be assigned to two pick-up locations in the morning and two drop-off locations in the afternoon on specific days of the week. These pick-up and drop-off locations must be either a Gorham residence or at a certified daycare where the student is enrolled, or the official Gorham Recreation Department before school/after school program.
Pick-up and drop-off locations shall be arranged before the school year begins and remain in place for the entire school year. Daily changes to a student’s transportation schedule will not be accommodated.
In order to accommodate daycare needs, a student may be picked-up and/or dropped-off at a certified daycare center where the student is enrolled, if it is on a regular bus route and follows a consistent schedule that is established before the start of the school year.
Any exception for the change of stops to a different residence or certified daycare is at the discretion of the Transportation Director or his/her designee. Exceptions will only be made for emergencies and only if space is available.
A request for a change in the arranged pick-up and drop-off locations requires the completion of a Change of Pick-Up/Drop-Off Request Form at least seven days in advance. Each request must demonstrate that it is a unique circumstance and/or a hardship that cannot easily be resolved through other options. This appeal, if granted, will remain in place until the end of the current school year.
A decision will be made by the Director of Transportation or his/her designee. A parent/guardian may appeal this decision to the Superintendent of Schools or his/ her designee. The decision by the Superintendent of Schools or his/her designee will be final.