Q&A
Cost differences and student capacity for various bus route types
2:12:21
·
113 sec
Council Member Rita Joseph inquires about cost differences between various types of bus routes, including general education, special education, and temporary housing routes. DOE officials provide detailed information on costs and student capacity for different route types.
- General education routes cost $162,000 annually on average, while special education routes cost $212,000
- General education buses accommodate an average of 33 students, while special education buses accommodate about 10
- Costs for students in temporary housing depend on whether they can use general education or require special education routes
Rita Joseph
2:12:21
Okay.
2:12:21
Can you elaborate on any detailed cost difference between the variant type of bus variant type of bus service routes?
2:12:28
Is there a difference?
James Sarkis
2:12:30
Yeah.
2:12:30
There's a significant difference between the cost of our general education busing and our special education bus busing.
2:12:36
Our general education busing, those routes are generally in district, meaning they travel shorter distances, and they don't they don't have the need for an attendant.
2:12:45
Whereas our special education busing requires buses that traverse longer distances, as well as have the need for attended.
2:12:52
So that service is generally more expensive than its general education counterpart.
Rita Joseph
2:12:57
And I believe Mister Roosevelt stated that on the record.
2:13:00
Is there a difference in average cost for students in temporary housing bus routes, if so, what's the difference?
James Sarkis
2:13:06
Yeah.
2:13:07
That really depends on the type of of route that we route the student on.
2:13:10
If the student doesn't live within the district or the bureau, then we have to use a special education route, which would lead to a higher cost for that student.
2:13:19
If the student is placed in a location that's closer to the school, we can use a general education route, and that cost would be significantly lower.
Rita Joseph
2:13:28
And the difference in average cost of stop to school route compared to a curb to school route, if so, what's the difference in that?
James Sarkis
2:13:35
A general education route cost $162,000 on average annually, while a special education route cost $212,000 annually on average.
Rita Joseph
2:13:46
Is there a difference on average number of students accommodated by each of these types of bus routes?
James Sarkis
2:13:51
On average, a general education bus accommodates 33 students.
2:13:56
A special education bus accommodates approximately 10.
2:14:03
And just to clarify, that's not the capacity of the buses.
Rita Joseph
2:14:06
Mhmm.
James Sarkis
2:14:06
That's how many we can route effectively and efficiently without causing delays in service depending on the location of the schools and the location of the students.
