Frequently Asked Questions

Please call.  Being able to know this information is very helpful.  Not having to make an unnecessary stop helps keep traffic moving and reduces the frustration for other motorists who must stop for buses.  Call the school Transportation office at 518.825.3028 and if there is no answer please leave a voicemail.

Unfortunately, no. To maintain the SAFEST and most efficient operation, we must keep bus changes to the minimum. Our routing software and district policy only allows 1 primary stop per student (which has to match your primary address from Schooltool). A secondary address may be requested, however, you MUST provide a schedule for both stops AND adhere to that schedule in order to have the second stop. IF a schedule is not provided to transportation, or is not followed, a second location will not be honored.

There are many reasons for an occasional late bus. Weather, traffic, substitute driver or a mechanical problem could all delay a bus. Please watch your parent app for BusRight to locate the updated schedule and estimated arrival for your bus. This software is gps based and updates along the route to provide the most up to date estimated arrival time.

Closing the District schools is done by the Superintendent of Schools after consulting with the transportation supervisor early in the morning. This decision is generally made by 5:30 a.m. and then the information is transmitted to the local media for distribution.  You may obtain the information on all of the local TV stations (WCAX channel 3, WPTZ channel 5 or WVNY channel 22) and the local radio stations. Please do not call Transportation during a closure or delay, our phone lines are very busy communicating with our staff. A closure is just that, we are not open. A delay is based on time.

EXAMPLE- 2 hour delay, if the bus comes at 8am normally, it should arrive around 10am during a delay.

The hours at the bus garage are 6:30 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. on regular school days. You are welcome to call during those hours to obtain any information about transportation needed. Should there be no one to answer your call, please stay on the line and leave a message so we may return your call when we return.

The Transportation Department will issue emergency passes on an as-needed basis. Bus stops are assigned based on the primary address from SchoolTool. Families may request a second location with a provided pick-up and drop-off schedule to ensure that students are routed properly and that students are placed on the correct route based on the pick-up and drop-off schedule. If a schedule is not provided, we will be unable to set a second location within our transportation routing software.

Students who do not follow the appropriate pick-up and drop-off address locations will be subject to the following consequences.

• First Offense - Transportation Department calls parents/guardians to let them know that their child(ren) boarded a bus that they were not assigned to without an emergency pass. Parents/Guardians will be informed that future incidents may result in disciplinary action at the building level.

• Second Offense - Transportation Department/Bus Driver submits a referral for documentation. The building administrator will call home and remind parents/guardians that future incidents of this behavior without an emergency pass will result in disciplinary action such as Lunch Detention, Structured Study Hall, or After School Detention.

• Third Offense - Transportation Department/Bus Driver submits a referral on the incident. Administration will administer one of the following (Lunch Detention, Structured Study Hall, After School Detention) with a phone call home.

• Repeated Offenses - May result in the suspension from transportation for 5 days, following all applicable policies and regulations.

The bus on your road is routed in that manner to create the SAFEST stop possible for your child/children. By stopping on the first pass by, your
child/children do not need to cross the highway to get to the bus which is by far the SAFEST way to pick up passengers. Our BusRight software routes all stops the SAFEST and efficient way. The driver must stop and pick your student up when that stop is scheduled, and cannot deviate from that scheduled stop. BusRight also shows us in live time when the bus stops, the bus will not return to your home the same day for a second time. If your student misses the bus, you will have to self transport. You will receive an updated ETA daily when the bus is within a few stops of your home.

No, there is not a lost and found. Drivers will keep lost items for 3 days and students can ask their driver if the item was found. If nobody has claimed the item within 3 days, the items will be disposed of.

Yes. We run late buses Monday thru Thursday at 5:00, and Friday is 4:15. Students MUST obtain a bus pass from their teacher or administrator of the program they stayed for in order to board a late bus. This pass must have a name, address and be signed by the teacher/administrator. Late buses are 1-1.5 hours in length of ride depending on ridership.

During the last few weeks in August, the Transportation Department will update the BusRight app with your students information and scheduled stops. These stops are ETA based and will fluctuate based on ridership, traffic, etc. It will give you the ROUTE NAME which contains the BUS # IF you have not seen an updated route for your child by the end of AUGUST, please call transportation to
ensure we get your student scheduled.

You will request a “Transportation Request Form”. These are available at your students buildings office, or online at www.bcsdk12.org , under departments tab, under transportation and forms. These will need to be printed and filled out. You must provide a schedule for each of the stops. This schedule must be consistent and cannot change on the fly. If a schedule is not provided and adhered to, the second location will not be honored. ALL changes must be 2 weeks in advance of change to allow for routing and changes to take effect. We cannot change a primary address in our system, this is sent by SchoolTool and must be changed by providing proper documentation to the district registrar. AGAIN, this must be done prior to requesting bus address change if you move. Minimally 3 days is required for routing, but request must be 2 weeks prior to the actual need date.