Are students riding on the appropriate buses, and if not, is it forcing some buses to complete runs with four students to a seat? 

During a recent school committee meeting, Barrington Superintendent of Schools Michael Messore offered an update from the district's transportation task force. He shared information about bus ridership, bus monitors, an app that allows for real-time tracking of the district's school buses, and some other topics. 

Mr. Messore said members of the task force had requested the district update some of the bus route information that was posted on the district website. He said officials were waiting for Ocean State Transportation — the district's bus company — to update its database so that the district could update its information.

Mr. Messore said some of the changes are going to be specific to bus stops that have been altered since the beginning of the school year. He added that one of the district's buses — Bus 12 — was going to be changed also. 

Roster checks

Barrington school officials recently started conducting roster checks to make sure local students are riding on the appropriate school buses. 

Eligibility of bus riders has been a focus for school officials during the first part of the school year, said the superintendent during the Oct. 3 meeting. Mr. Messore said some students may be boarding and riding buses that they are not supposed to be on, leaving some buses overcrowded.

"For efficiencies, you want to make sure there are enough seats on the bus, so we are doing some roster checks," he said.

District officials began roster checks earlier this month, starting with the elementary schools. Mr. Messore said roster checks were already completed at Nayatt Elementary School. 

He said students' parents will be notified when a boy or girl is not riding the appropriate bus: "We're not doing this in a mean way," he added.

The superintendent said officials are considering establishing some type of "bus pass system" which would ensure that students ride the appropriate buses. He said many other school districts employ that type of system, although Barrington has never done so. 

Mr. Messore also said that the district is not, at this point, looking at any adding more buses, although there may be a need to shift some students from one bus to another. 

He said the nice weather to start the school year has also meant many students have been riding their bicycles or walking to school. As fall turns to winter and temperatures get colder, more students will likely be boarding school buses each morning and afternoon, which could impact the busing system.

School committee member Anna Clancy asked Mr. Messore how many students might be riding the wrong buses right now. He said he was not sure about that information, but guessed it was more this year than in prior years.

School committee student representative Kelly Kaon asked Mr. Messore if buses were allowed to make runs if there were four students to a seat. Mr. Messore said the district has had some buses make runs with four students to a seat, but is only allowed to move if everyone's sitting down. 

He said, ideally, it is better to have three students per seat, but there have been a few times where there have been four students to each seat. He said the overcrowded buses played a role in the district's decision to complete ridership roster checks.

Ms. Clancy asked if any of the buses had been intentionally routed to have four students per seat. Mr. Messore said that they were not planned that way, but there have been times when it has occurred. He said that it is not the norm, but rather an infrequent occurrence. 

GPS devices

Also during the meeting, Mr. Messore mentioned the district's ongoing efforts to bring the "Safe Stop" app online. The app, which is offered through a South Carolina-based company, allows people to follow the buses in real-time through the use of GPS devices. 

Mr. Messore said part of the challenge was that not all of the district's buses had been equipped with GPS devices yet. As of the Oct. 3 meeting, about three or four of the district's buses did not have GPS devices installed yet, the superintendent said. 

In addition to offering parents a quick look at where buses are on their routes, the GPS devices will also allow officials specific data on run times, stops and other bus route-related information.

Later in the meeting, school committee member Patrick McCrann asked if there was a way to start recording the run information for the buses that do have GPS devices while the district waits for the remainder of the buses to be equipped. Mr. McCrann said he recalled from last year that it took a few meetings before school committee members were able to view the GPS data.

Mr. Messore said the district has been working hard to communicate busing information with students' parents. In addition to email updates, officials and building administrators frequently text students' parents with busing information; during the first week or two of school, officials regularly sent text alerts to buses running on time or those that were behind schedule.

Mr. Messore said that on any given day a number of factors could impact the bus runs, but for the most part the overall system is operating well — buses are arriving at Hampden Meadows School and the other elementary schools on time and have enough of a window to make the later runs for the middle school and high school. 

The superintendent added that officials are still working with a couple of the buses to improve efficiencies. 

Ms. Clancy later asked Mr. Messore if the district should publish some data about bus routes and arrival times to combat the spread of misinformation. Mr. Messore said the district needs to gather GPS data from all the buses before sharing that information. The superintendent added that if there were problems with a specific bus, officials would contact the bus company to address the problem. 

Bus monitors

Some Barrington residents have questioned district officials about recent runs where buses have not had monitors on board. 

Officials said the vast majority of runs (93 percent) have had monitors on board; Mr. Messore added that the district has been in compliance with the requirements set forth by the Rhode Island Department of Education. 

The superintendent said having monitors on buses is a district priority, and at times, some administrators — including the transportation director — have filled in as monitors when needed. 

School committee member Gina Bae asked if it was necessary to have monitors get off at each stop and check the bus when the run is for the district's older students, middle and high school students. Mr. Messore said that monitors need to follow the same protocol with all buses, helping students cross the streets and checking the buses following drop-offs and pick-ups. He said if anything was to happen because a monitor wasn't performing his or her duties, the district would be held liable for it. 

Early dismissals

Mr. Messore also discussed some other issues at the meeting, including the number of early dismissals there have been this year. Some people have been concerned that the shift in school start and dismissal times may have led to an increased number of early dismissals for some student-athletes at the middle and high school.

Mr. Messore said that while there have been some early dismissals, much of it has to do with a shift in game times due to concerns over EEE. He said the district has had six early dismissals for athletics — some for soccer, tennis and field hockey. He also said there were two other early dismissals that had been planned to occur, including one for the BHS boys cross country team and its trip to the Thetford Invitational Meet in Thetford, Vt.

Ms. Clancy asked if there was any evidence to an increased number of athlete injuries because of abbreviated warm-up schedules due to earlier game times. Mr. Messore said some teams were used to having more time to stretch and warm up; it was not clear whether there have been more injuries this year. 

He was also asked if road traffic had made it difficult for teams to make it to their games on time. 

"They're making their matches," Mr. Messore said.

The superintendent also spoke about ensuring that all students have access to clubs and extra-curricular activities. He said that if there is a consensus that clubs want to meet in the morning before the start of school, that will be allowed. He said clubs don't meet every day — usually far less frequently.

Ms. Clancy also asked Mr. Messore if he has been hearing from parents about teachers being unavailable to meet with students to provide extra help after the end of the school day. Mr. Messore said that issue had not been brought to him yet, but if it does he would address it. 

Mr. Messore said officials plan to gather more information about the impacts of the new start time change; school committee members were interested in what data points would be the focus of study.