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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2012-12-06-STAS-minAd Hoc School Transportation and Safety Study Committee December 6, 2012 at gam Conference Room, Central Administration Blg Meeting Minutes 1. Attending:Judy Crocker, Elaine Celi (LPS Transportation), Elaine Dratch (TAC), MaryEllen Dunn (Asst Sup erintendent),Manny Ferro (LPD), Sharon Kendall, Jessie Steigerwald (SC), Craig Weeks Guest: Bonnie Brown 2. School Bus Registration Update The figures remain relatively constant, with only a few additional riders added. FY14 School Transportation meeting with BoS /SC Chairs Mr. Weeks and Ms. Crocker met with Chairs Ms. Mauger (BoS) and Ms. Coppe (SC) on November 27th to discuss ways to maintain and improve upon current school bus transportation services. Ms. Coppe expressed sentiments from the SC that they expected the expanded services to be a two -year pilot, following the Town Meeting approval of a municipal bus subsidy in March 2012. Given the sentiment of the Spring 2012 Town Meeting that school transportation is a school not municipal budget item coupled with learning that the School Committee had every expectation that these pilot initiatives would involve more than one year, STS members stated that we are looking to LPS to include these additional school transportation financial responsibilities within the FY14 budget. The discussion also touched upon other service improvements including a possible partnership with the Town Transportation Department in managing the elementary after - school program, infrastructure improvements at the middle schools to handle the volume of buses, bus registration late fee, improved outreach to distance eligible riders, improved online registration, bus cameras, new school zone signage, possible by -law for LPD jurisdiction to include school property, and ways of addressing new large populations of students who currently do not use the bus (namely high school and elementary extended day students). 4. TSAC Update as it relates to School Transportation TSAC members have been in discussion with Carl Valente, Town Manager, about adjusting its charge and better defining its responsibilities. Its recommendations should then be of more help to this Committee with its goals. Some of the proposed safety directive changes include sight line and no parking near crosswalks.Also, with Ms. Dunn as a member of TSAC and representing the entire school district will be more effective than the LPS representative being an elementary assistant school principal. This will also aid in TSAC approaching the SC with action items. The SC can in turn address any clarifications with the Department of Facilities. Like TSAC, Ms. Dratch said that TAC (Transportation Advisory Committee) is also undergoing similar changes. It's work is presentlyorganized under COA (Council on Aging), not public works. Jeanette Rebecchi (Town Transportation) is working on the streamlining efforts. S. Spring Town Meeting - possible articles Cpt. Ferro reported that no neighboring communities have an existing town by -law that allows school administration and the police to enforce and penalize those who fail to follow posted traffic rules on school property. He reported that Lexington is different from other towns in that its school property design is land - locked into local neighborhoods and that we have more reports of issues with problem driver behavior and traffic volume. In addition, other school administrations more effectively underscore the premise that it is a privilege to drive on school property to its parent population. For these reasons, a by -law is not necessary in other towns. In order to allow effective police enforcement of posted signage on school property, Lexington needs a trespass clause with voluntary compliance. Certain road regulations are global, but there appears to be an enforcement double standard between the schools and other municipal property. Cpt. Ferro questioned the possibility of involving legal council and the School Committee (SC). As members of TSAC, Ms. Dunn and Cpt. Ferro are proposing the following in lieu of a new town by -law. The SC is the record property owner for school grounds. TSAC will recommend that the SC review the proposed change. Any new enforcement code needs to be clarified and approved by the SC. The SC would then need to request that the Board of Selectmen (BoS) vote to have school signage codified. However, the Committee wished to maintain a placeholder for a Town Meeting article for a new by -law in the event that TSAC /SC option does not succeed. Ms. Crocker will inform Mr. Cohen (BoS) of this change. TSAC is undergoing an individual school approach to signage. The Committee expressed concerns that it believed a universal perspective might be easier to enforce and demonstrate school parity. 6. 2013 Calendar Tabled until a future date. 7. STS School Improvement Plan Goals Tabled until a future date. 8. November meeting minutes were accepted as amended. 9. New Business A. Diamond problems with bussed students Ms. Celi will host a meeting with Diamond administration and C &W Transportation in order to discuss problems with some students approaching the queued school buses before they are in the loading area. B. Operation Yellow Blitz Update Cpt. Ferro reported that November's Operation Yellow Blitz in Lexington consisted of unmarked and marked police vehicles as well as motorcycles. A media piece was done at Diamond. While it is still an issue, the police do not think that the problem is quite as bad as local bus drivers believe for they do not witness many infarctions. However, during the school bus ride -a -longs held the same week, attendees witnessed multiple violators. One solution might be to install motion - activated cameras on school bus stop signs, such as are used in southern states. A discussion ensued on how to best deter drivers from passing thru the flashing lights of a school bus. Taking the license plate numbers of offenders cannot lead to legal action unless the police witnessed the accused violation. However, there is no right of privacy for registry information and so a violator can be identified from their license plate. Therefore, a letter can be written from both the LPD and LPS and sent to the violator stating that, as renter /owner of the bus, the Town is very concerned for the health and safety of their school children. A copy can be sent to the RMV. C &W Transportation and Ms. Celi would need to be notified of any violators. Ms. Crocker will draft such a letter. C. Chamber of Commerce Trick -Or -Treat Pedestrian Issue What is wrong with this picture? A photo of a costumed preschooler crossing Mass Ave during the Chamber's annual Trick -or -Treat event from theNovember 8thMinuteman newspaper was examined. Of note, the child was not in a crosswalk and was alone as he crossed the street with moving traffic in the background. Cpt. Ferro said that there are two additional officers in the center during this event. With many hundreds of participants, the officers are frustrated as a fair sampling of parents do not follow police directions, do not use the crosswalk, and generally demonstrate a lack of common sense and irresponsibility. While it is a wonderful event, the education of the general public needs to take place in order to ensure public safety. A model to follow is perhaps how road races are able to direct the flow of runners. It was proposed that an open letter to parents be penned for next fall in an effort to better manage pedestrian flow during the event. This year there was less press than usual because of Hurricane Sandy. D. Clarke Infrastructure Proposal A new bus loop to the right of the Clarke building is being proposed in order to accommodate the increased number of buses in use and predicted to be needed moving forward. A capital expenditure for a feasibility study is before Facilities is due on Dec 11. While crowding is a primary problem at the Clarke, other bus ridership problems include those students who ride the bus without a bus pass and some discipline issues. School aides do not necessarily check for bus passes. Smart cards and cameras continue to be the best solutions but require funding. E. Transportation Budget The proposed FY14 School Transportation Budget proposes: • An additional bus (Clarke) • Potential partnership with Town Transportation Office (Ms. Rebecchi) regarding elementary after - school destination program and question of additional school aides • Moving forward, elementary students will need to be charged for the after - school transportation option • A late registration fee should be reinstated. • The bus registration will end around May 1, 2013. Ms. Dunn and Ms. Celi will be meeting with Ms. Rebecchi and TAC members in mid December. It was noted that C &W Transportation has been phenomenal in handling the new services offered in FY13. Late bus registration fees were discussed. A late fee of the actual cost to ride the bus of $722 was suggested. The FY14 LPS budget will be presented to the SC on January 8, 2013. The FY14 Budget Work Papers request a total Operating Budget increase of $426,294 in order to maintain FY13 school transportation program. This figure includes the impact from 6 additional buses from FY12 to FY13, bus contract fee increase, and an additional bus for FY14. F. STS presentation to SC and BoS The Committee thought it prudent it present a STS update to the SC and BoS prior to the 2013 annual Town Meeting. Our next meeting will be January 3, 2013 at gam in the Conference Room at Central Administration. Respectively submitted, Judy Crocker