Business, Finance, and Planning The Office of Business, Finance, and Planning (BFP) is responsible for all non-instructional components of the district. The non-instructional areas of the district include fiscal oversight, budgeting, school facility planning, maintenance, payroll, accounts payable, accounting, purchasing, transportation, school operations, grants, food service, and legal compliance with state reporting requirements. Transportation In FY27, Newton will transport students via 34 yellow buses within the district, and 8 yellow buses for Boston METCO students, as well as special education transportation. Six of the 42 total buses are shared with the METCO program and partially funded by the grant, and one of these buses provides transportation to private schools. To date, NPS has issued approximately 4,000 bus passes and is transporting approximately 450 students in special education vans, for a total of 4,450 students, or 39% of NPS students. The district is entering into the fifth year of a five-year yellow bus contract with Eastern Bus Company. The annual budgeted increased cost for yellow bus transportation is increasing by 4.0%. In FY27, NPS is expected to collect $1,055,000 in bus fees, which is about $40,000 more than our FY26 projected fee collection amount. This increase in bus fee revenue is due to fee increases that the School Committee approved for FY27, which are listed in the table below. The total cost of yellow bus transportation is calculated by multiplying the daily rate by the number of buses by the number of school days (180). Yellow bus and special education transportation expenditures are projected to make up approximately 3.5% of the total FY27 budget. It should be noted all busing costs for our Boston students participating through the METCO program are paid by the METCO grant. The district is strategically thinking about the bid process for transportation commencing in FY28. NPS is utilizing a third party consultant($25,000 paid by the city) to develop our bid specifications. Historically we have only received one bid for our yellow bus transportation and we are thinking of ways to attract other vendors. The district should be prepared for a potentially large rate increase in FY28. Beginning in FY26, the School Committee voted to change the transportation policies for Newton students attending private schools within Newton. The law requires communities to transport students the same distance or less to an approved private school as the public school they would be assigned to attend. Previously, we provided transportation services beyond this requirement. By making this change, we have been able to better utilize our existing bus fleet to reduce overcrowding and timeliness issues . This has resulted in not needing to add two buses to our fleet and saving approximately $250,000. Total yellow bus transportation to private schools within Newton is 3 to 5 riders daily. For special education transportation services, the FY27 budget includes an increase of approximately $150,00 or roughly 2.1%. This increase is mostly due to the rate increase and lower than the FY26 increase due to not needing to add vans to the fleet In FY27, NPS will enter its fourth year of several five-year contracts with its special education transportation vendors. FY27 is the thirteenth consecutive year for which Newton and other Massachusetts school districts have received reimbursement from the state under the
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