School busing times still being sorted out

While the bus routes and districting has been completed to accommodate the Newton Community School District’s reconfiguration, there are still some transportation details to be worked out.

In his presentation to the NCSD Board of Education on Monday night, Curt Roorda, the district’s transportation supervisor, went over what’s been done so far in terms of planning for an all-new route system — and what lies ahead as summer preparations continue.

“Every single route has changed,” Roorda said in describing the district’s 21 routes, which will take students to and from the four K-4 elementary schools, the 5-8 Berg Complex and Newton High School.

Roorda said even though postcards were sent out last month with approximate times and locations of bus stops district-wide, still he is awaiting data from the ongoing registration information collection being done by the district to determine if all the district’s address information is up to date.

That will help Roorda determine exactly what times each bus needs to reach its stops in order to arrive at campus by 7:30 a.m., when breakfast begins at schools.

“On the post card it said that there will be a follow up mailing with pick up and dropoff times,” Roorda said. “We are planning on another mailing before school starts.”

Roorda said each driver is currently working on bus routes, include test-driving each one and getting to know all the changes.

“They will also be trying to contact parents,” he said. “Some of the stops are the same and some have been eliminated. New bus stops have been added for this year.”

Roorda said some parents have called and asked the transportation department to take their child or children off of the bus list.

The best news about the new bus routes — and one of the minor benefits to reconfiguring — is the “shuttle” or relay system is gone. Students will ride one bus to or from school without having to switch buses, with the exception of about 20 Newton Christian School students who will be shuttled from the Berg Complex.

Each bus might have to stop at more campuses or stops along the way. Roorda said the issue of rural students having to catch the bus earlier than in-town students won’t change.

“Some of the city routes can start as late as shortly after 7 a.m.,” he said. “Some of the country routes will have to start like at 6:30 or 6:40 a.m.”

Roorda cautioned parents about afternoon drop-off times once the final schedules are produced and distributed. Many factors affect a bus’s arrival at a stop, so times should be considered approximate.

“It’s not going to be, say, 3:46 p.m. — on the dot — every day,” Roorda said. “It could be 3:40 some days, or 3:45 or 3:50. We do tell parents to be out at a bus stop early — especially with the really little ones. “

This summer, in addition to dealing with the rust and usual wear-and-tear and maintenance on buses, the department is looking forward to receiving two new 77-passenger buses. One recently arrived at Hoglund Bus Company in Marshalltown, and the other one is due to be delivered to Iowa soon.

Roorda said there were some expected growing pains when the district reconfigured in 2010, and he expects there will again be an adjustment period before all riders and their parents settle into a routine. However, he expects the new system to be largely an improvement.

“It might be a little rough at first,” Roorda said. “But once we figure out what our challenges are and who needs to get where, we can meet the needs of the students.”

The transportation department can be reached at 641-792-4493 with questions.

Contact Jason W. Brooks at 641-792-3121 ext. 6532 or jbrooks@newtondailynews.com