PINE BUSH – "It's the same story every year — parents complain that the buses are too full," says Roseanne Sullivan, Vice President of the Pine Bush School District Board of Education. "Their children don't get seats and are forced to stand, and while standing everyone gets stressed by being pushed into one another as the bus moves around." The Pine Bush School District lives on busing, transporting more than 6,500 students over 201 bus routes on 53 separate contracts. The buses burn through 208,000 gallons of fuel and in a year they rack up 2,133,900 miles.

But one rule governs the seating inside those buses. The state allots one 12-inch seat to each and every student. As Sullivan says, "This would be okay if each student, grades K through 12, came in the same size. But, I'm sure you've noticed that this is not the case."

Now, Sullivan is working with other board members to take a resolution to the NYSSBA Conference on October 17 at the Sheraton Hotel in New York City that would seek to change this. NYSSBA is the New York State School Boards Association, representing 700 boards of education and approximately 5,000 school board members.

"As we get older we acquire, and require, larger seating arrangements. The state continues to ignore this fact by allowing us only to maximize aid by abiding by a DMV rule which would permit 65 students, up until age 21, passengers for the maximization 90% of State Transportation aid for the school district. I believe this is physically impractical and jeopardizes the safety of all students."

Deborha Brush, Assistant Superintendent for Administrative Services, concurs.

"They tell you that you can get 65 children or 44 adults on a bus. The state doesn't recognize what the fashion industry does, which is that children change in size from K to 12 and the 'children' in high school are pretty much adult sized. They don't fit three to a seat."

Sullivan adds, "I got tired of this explanation — that 65 students on a bus is 'allowed by the state' and that that number is encouraged in the name of fiscal responsibility. Well, what if there's an accident involving a bus with lots of kids standing up?"

Phil Steinberg, Superintendent of Schools in Pine Bush, says, "There're two issues here, actually. The first is that the children don't fit and it creates an unsafe situation. The other is that the only remedy available to us is to provide extra buses above the aid factor. And the district is not compensated for those buses."

"Our transport budget is $8 million, and this probably costs us around $150,000," adds Brush. "So, it's significant."

Sullivan was driven to ask about this problem at a NYSSBA Conference. "I asked Commissioner Ed Mills about it, during a question and answer period. I said, 'Why would the State Education Department allow secondary students to be classed as the same physical size as primary students, when calculating transportation aid?' The commissioner looked at me and after a short pause, said, 'Well you've stumped the commissioner.'"

And so, Sullivan has been working to get a resolution on this issue onto the agenda at the NYSSBA conference. There has been resistance.

"It's ironic that the NYSSBA Resolutions Committee doesn't want to take this on," says Steinberg, "because they tend to look at other things that are more germane to teaching and learning. But when there's a safety issue for students, I think they should reconsider."

Sullivan, who is now a member of the Resolution Committee, which has voted not to support the resolution, will join other Pine Bush Board Members at the NYSSBA meeting in October to advocate for its passage.

"I've learned over the years that though the support of the committee does help, it doesn't make or break a resolution."

Sullivan and other board members plan to campaign aggressively for the resolution.

"It's important," says Sullivan, "because despite the current economy, schools need to send the message that we will not forego safety, for fear of losing resources elsewhere. Many districts fear that an increase in transportation funding would only lead to a loss in other funding."

Steinberg says, "You have to start somewhere with an issue like this, and I think the best way to do that is to create awareness of the inequity here. Kindergarten students and seniors in high school are just not the same size. It would be a great thing if every district got their transportation aid based on the kids they actually got onto the buses."