PINE BUSH – As many as 40 of the bus routes in the Pine Bush School District are being changed as part of a system-wide overhaul.

Deborha Brush, Assistant Superintendent for Administrative Services, announced the changes at the Pine Bush School District Board of Education Meeting on July 28.

"We use the VersaTrans computer routing system to create our routes, as well as to keep track of students so we know who is on what bus," says Brush. "However, we weren't using this software to capacity, so we worked with the First Student Bus Company so they could take it over. That led to our being able to update the whole system and gain some efficiencies which will save money for the taxpayers."

Beyond the financial concerns, Brush adds, "This also makes things more equal. We won't have some kids getting picked up at their homes while others have long walks."

Pine Bush students will, however, be asked to walk up to a mile to reach the new collection points.

"The State of New York allows for elementary walking up to two miles and secondary students up to three miles," Brush points out. So the district is working well within the limits.

"The system we had had been modified many times since the bus runs were first established, so it was very much in need of an overhaul."

"We will cut down on trips down lonely roads," says Brush. "Dead ends and cul-de-sacs, too. We will be trying to avoid pick ups from individual homes."

Brush adds one very important qualification to this process. "Obviously there's a limitation to this when it comes to Routes 302 and 52. We won't have students walking along 55 miles-per-hour zones on state roads. Safety of our students remains a paramount concern for the district."

Motorists in the district will also see a reduction in the nuisance effect since there will be fewer bus stops.

"Another big change," says Brush, "is that the district is no longer going to mail out the bus route information directly to parents. Instead, the information on routes will be sent from the individual schools. We're doing this because we found that sometimes parents lost the information, or didn't open it. We think this will be a better way to disseminate this information to parents who need it."

In addition, the bus routing information will also be available on the school's website.

"These changes will also affect our non-public school students. But the information on those routes will still come directly from the district office."