Busing Tables Turned in Franklin

In the wake of a puzzling memo to families and much resulting confusion, the Franklin Public Schools issued a new, clarifying memo Tuesday, reproduced below, that more fully explains transportation challenges and options.

Dave Callaghan, School Committee Chair, noted, "this updated email provides a great deal of information. The biggest takeaway on the eve of the first day of school: bus drivers have been instructed to wait until September 16th to begin checking bus passes."

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Tuesdsay Memo

Dear FPS Families,

This email is being sent to address the significant confusion caused by the letter sent from the Transportation Department to individual families. We have received numerous emails, too significant to respond to individually in a timely manner, and we are therefore sharing what we hope will provide clarity as it relates to transportation, particularly for the first few days of school. Please accept our apology for this confusion.

• Bus passes will be available at your child’s school on September 4th.
• Bus drivers have been instructed to wait until September 16th to begin checking bus passes. Given that, buses are likely to be crowded the first few weeks as we finalize routes and those who registered and paid prior to the July 31st extended deadline.

• After September 16th, only those who registered and paid prior to July 31st will have a bus pass and be able to ride the bus.
• In regard to where to get on the bus, please refer to the linked bus routes and get on at the stop closest to your home.
• If you have registered before the deadline and made at least a partial payment you will receive a separate email indicating the name of the child, the bus stop assigned, and the time to be at the stop.
• Those who registered and paid after July 31st will be waitlisted and then assigned a bus pass based on available space in the order they registered and paid. If you have been waitlisted you will also receive a separate email indicating that you are waitlisted. We will be modifying routes over the first few weeks to accommodate as many as possible.
• The students living in the Emergency Shelter have a dedicated additional bus beyond our usual number of buses, paid for through earmarked state funds that we have already received and therefore have no impact on this situation.
• At this time any student who registered and fully or partially paid before the July 31st deadline has been placed on a bus.
• If you registered before the deadline but no longer require a bus seat, please email schoolbus@franklinps.net so we can process your refund and assign the seat to another student.

Finally, this situation is not a result of the failed override or any other financial issue. It is due to a higher number of registrations at certain schools, specific routes, and payments after the extended deadline.

Thank you for your patience.

FPS Transportation Department

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