DALMATIA - If Line Mountain School Board members vote to close the elementary schools at Leck Kill and Dalmatia, all bus runs for students in kindergarten through third grade would likely be less than 60 minutes.
That is among the information presented Tuesday night to board members by Jane Wolfe, who has worked in the transportation department for 38 years.
The school board has been discussing for months the possibility of closing the two schools and consolidating elementary students between Trevorton and a possible addition or new building on the junior-senior high school campus. At their last meeting in January, the school board requested a bus study of the scenerio.
Wolfe presented this bus study based on kindergarten through third-grade students at the Trevorton Elementary School and fourth- through 12th-grade students at the junior-senior high school in Mandata.
"If the board says they don't want runs any longer than an hour, that can be done," said Wolfe, who worked with Marvin E. Klinger Inc. bus company and Bus Tracks, a bus tracking system, on the study.
Wolfe said closures of the two elementary schools would free up 13 buses currently used. Some students are currently riding the bus for as long as 70 minutes, and the new scenario would allow the use of some of the 13 vehicles to ensure all students arrive at their destination within an hour of being picked up.
"You would be able to do 60 minutes or less if you're now doing it with 70 minutes or less," she said.
Whatever buses are not used to transport students to Trevorton can be used to take students to the high school campus in Mandata, Wolfe said.
"It will level out. It's the same amount of buses, just different runs," she said.
Director Lauren Hackenburg asked Wolfe if it's possible to cut the times of every run to 45 minutes or less, but Wolfe said there are students 40 minutes away from the schools to begin with.
President Troy Laudenslager said, "The people on the outskirts now will still be on the bus for about the same length of time."
Hackenburg also asked for the number of students on each run and at each stop. Wolfe noted the current numbers could be given, but she didn't know the numbers for the 2013-14 school year if the proposed busing system is adopted.
Superintendent Dave Campbell said closing two schools would likely save the district $110,000 a year. He said it's the best option, financially speaking.
"There's just no other way to do it to save money," he said.
In other business, the board accepted the resignation of Bryan Buddock, who served as director of region 1. The board will look for a replacement to serve the remaining two years of his term.