With the first day of school just more than a week away, families flocked to the Falcon School District 49 bus yard Saturday to learn about the district’s new fee-for-service transportation system.

The transportation department’s open house was scheduled 8-11 a.m., but families arrived as early as 7:30 a.m. and were still filing in after 11 a.m.

While many families said they are willing to give the new system a try, some said the changes, such as bus stops farther from home and new routes, are confusing.

Cindy Hayter couldn’t find a stop for her son to catch the bus to Falcon High School, although there was one for the ride home.  

“They’re working out the kinks. They’re trying to work with us. It was convenient before but now it’s not at all,” Hayter said.

The school board voted in January to cut the regular bus service for the upcoming school year and divert the roughly $3.5 million transportation budget elsewhere due to state funding cuts.

The board considered the district transportation department’s plan as well as bids from three companies before voting to implement the fee-for-service system. The program is expected to be self-sustaining, although the district will provide money to bus special education students.

The new service will cost $1 a ride.

As of Saturday morning, about 2,000 students had signed up for rides, transportation director Cindy Hardin said.

Last year, the district had 4,800 daily riders.

About 3,000 riders are needed to break even, but Hardin said she doesn’t expect to meet that goal until fall break in October. If necessary, they will  tweak the routes and stops.

“We’re keeping our fingers crossed that we’re going to be at that number plus more,” Hardin said.

Fifty additional students had signed up at the open house by 10 a.m. Saturday. Among those in line was John Orpen, who added more money to his sixth grader’s prepaid ride card.

“We’ll have to see how it rolls,” he said, adding that it would be tough to drive his son to and from school. “We signed up because it’s convenient.”

Bus driver Renee Hanback said she is optimistic about the new service.

“We would’ve much rather kept it the way it was, as bus drivers and thinking about the safety for children. But we had no choice,” she said.

CeCe Catherwood, who was working at the open house, said parents’ biggest concern is the increased amount of time students will spend on the bus, which ranges from 30 minutes to an hour. With the new program, many stops have changed, increasing walk distances to up to 2 1/2 miles for some students.

Hanback said drivers are prepared to handle concerns — such as mixed grade levels riding on one bus — and will keep students safe.

Sorting through pages of paperwork detailing her high schooler’s new bus route, Michelle Green was overwhelmed.

“I think a general concern is the pricing. For us personally it could be a hardship eventually. We’ll wait and see how it goes,” she said.

Parent Jim Starner said the new system doesn’t make sense for a rural area with many dual-income families, but he doesn’t blame the transportation department.

“Unfortunately they’re the ones that almost everybody blames because they’re the first line of defense. They’re trying to do their best,” he said. “It’s the school board’s decision.”

He said the representation of parents has been compromised and many families may have no choice but to sign up for the new busing system.

“It’s extremely sad the district doesn’t recognize the needs of parents,” he said. “The school district seems to place more importance on the pay of administrators than the safety of our children.”

Hawaii National Guardsman Sean McKay lands a UH-60 Black Hawk at a high altitude landing zone July 19 while training with Colorado National Guard instructor Mike Felton at the High-Altitude Army Aviation Training Site at the Eagle County Airport in Gypsum, Colo. The Guard trains rotor-wing military pilots from around the world to fly safely at high elevation and in mountainous terrain. Photo by CHRISTIAN MURDOCK/The Gazette