TRANSPORTATION 101
This explainer takes a deep dive on the MPS Transportation deficit and budget. It is intended to orient residents about the +$10 million transportation budget, which makes up about 30% of the current deficit.
Superintendent Ruth Turner has indicated that the District and BOE have identified transportation as a key driver of cost for potential cuts or changes as part of the process of balancing the Montclair Public Schools (MPS) budget.
It’s our aim to grow the District, BOE and community’s understanding of and capacity for evaluating the areas with the greatest potential for savings and change.
Our high-level findings include:
Transportation is the biggest driver of the deficit.
We don’t have a line item breakdown of where these budget deficits fall within transportation costs.
We suggest an examination of increasing the efficiency of Special Education (SPED) transportation.
We identify data that could help achieve budget savings and greater efficiency for General Education transportation.
The key next step is to get the right data to evaluate these options. We outline that data request.
Our recommendations for the District include:
Publishing detailed budget information and supporting material to better inform stakeholders.
Publishing a detailed line-by-line breakdown of the budget deficit.
Conducting a survey of courtesy busing needs and an optimization analysis of the existing routes.
Conducting an audit of in- and out-of-district busing for SPED needs students to understand the population, their collective needs, and whether increasing the provision of in-district SPED services could result in cost reduction.
