HomeMy WebLinkAbout2013-02-14-STAS-min Ad Hoc School Transportation and Safety Study Committee
February 14, 2013 at 9am
Conference Room, Central Administration Blg
Meeting Minutes
1 Attending Judy Crocker, Elaine Dratch, MaryEllen Dunn (Asst
Superintendent),Sharon Kendall, Deb Mauger (BoS),Jessie Steigerwald (SC), Craig
Weeks
Guest Bonnie Brown
2. Meeting minutes were not ready to be reviewed.
3 School Bus Registration
Communicating the designated bus registration period along with maintaining
and/or increasing ridership will be key Changes for FY14 were discussed These
include online registration, fee structure and deadlines,the need for designated
elementary school captains to help with dismissal of after-school destination
students, and marketing Improved communication with principals, staff and school
captains is also needed It is also hoped that the combination of these measures will
result in a more orderly August and September
Marketing should be early, loud and clear. Ms. Cell will design a new bus
registration flier that will include a streamlined fee schedule PR will include a
cable ad, reaching out to the management of the apartment complexes where the
majority of the distance eligible students reside, possible use of the LPD electronic
message board, and re-examining the distribution of a LPD/public safety letter
Better use of the Colonial Times, Patch, and the Minuteman were also mentioned A
draft calendar of proposed bus registration marketing was distributed. The
question of needing a permission slip for the elementary after-school program was
dismissed because the same information is received on the registration form as
would be on this document.
A draft school transportation PR calendar was distributed
Part of the solution for increased bus ridership and improved bus efficiencies will
to obtain school buy-in A long-term commitment for valuing walkers and bussers
is needed from the nine schools, School Committee, and Superintendent.
A brief discussion involved targeting certain schools that have unusually high or
acute traffic issues. These include Bridge, Clarke, Diamond, Estabrook, and Fiske.
4 School Zone Grant
Safe Routes to School and DPW have been awarded a Metropolitan Area Planning
Council grant of$6,800 for the spring of 2013 The grant will provide funding for an
outside consultant to evaluate and make recommendations for Lexington's 8 school
zones regarding posted signage and pavement markings The grant also expects
that all local Grade K-8 schools will be a Safe Routes partner school Presently, all
Lexington schools enjoy the benefits of the Massachusetts partnership except for
Harrington
The consultant will begin work this spring once the snow is gone and the study
recommendations will be completed before the end of June Once the study is in
hand, its recommendations will be taken under advisement Implementation of any
improvements will depend on future funding.
5 School Handbooks and Websites
This Committee is aware that current school handbooks and websites are
inconsistent and conflicting in identifyingstudent attendance policy and procedures
and in listing information about school hours Ms Kendall agreed todocument their
differences
6 "Kiss and Ride" Concept
Part of the conversation in deterring parents from driving onto school property is
to make this more difficult Schools need to have consequences if the privilege to
drive onto school property is abused This concept is not unique to Lexington
Parent and student contracts and application materials from the Orange Hunt
Elementary School in Springfield,VA were partially discussed ad will be further
reviewed by Committee members
7 New Business
a) STS is waiting for the School Committeeto schedule the TSAC and STS
presentations, after which the Board of Selectmen presentation can be scheduled
To date,tentative times include TSAC at SC for Feb 26, STS at SC on March 12, and
STS at BoS on Feb 25.
bl Bus cameras will be installed on LPS school buses over the February vacation
week in order to help with bus discipline issues and security. The cost of this
contractual item will be a discounted $40,000 Three cameras will be added to each
bus one in the front, one to the rear, and one facing the main door Drivers will
receive training on their use. The cameras work on a continuous loop feed which
tapes over itself with time Drivers will be able to use a flag button to highlight a
certain point on the tape The cameras do no use real time GPS
c) Traffic Week is being promoted in early March at Bridge and Bowman with the
help of the school principals, staff, and SRTS
d) The Complete Streets Workshop sponsored by MAPC and Lexington's Dept of
Engineering was attended by Mr Weeks on Feb 7 It was noted that no one from
Facilities representing the schools attended Mr Weeks obtained information he
thought useful for the school system regarding the physical layout of schools He
will supply Ms Dunn with the information
Our next meeting will be March 7, 2013 at 9am in the Conference Room at Central
Administration.
Respectively submitted,
Judy Crocker