A line of Southwick-Tolland-Granville Regional School buses are cleaned and prepped for opening day Wednesday. (Photo by Frederick Gore)
SOUTHWICK – Despite construction at Southwick-Tolland-Granville Regional High School, students should see little interruption when it comes to parking and transportation this year.
Business Manager Stephen Presnal said there will be fewer student parking spaces at the school, but it will not be a very noticeable difference.
With less space for students to park, Presnal said the district expects “a slight uptick” in the number of bus riders, but there is plenty of room.
“We do expect a little bump (in the number of riders) but it’s not anything we can’t handle,” said Presnal.
Presnal said there are 12 full-size buses and a few special education vans that go to the high school daily. There is also a bus that transports students to and from the Pioneer Valley Educational Collaborative in West Springfield for morning vocational classes. He said there should be plenty of room on the buses going to the high school.
If, however, there is a bus that is over capacity, Presnal said there are buses with room for more.
“Right now if everybody who is eligible uses the buses we have in service for the high school, maybe two would be completely full,” Presnal said. “If we need to, we can add a stop to a route on a bus that is not at capacity to accommodate those students.”
Presnal stressed that whether students drive themselves, are dropped off, or take the bus, parents should be assured that administration expects a smooth transition during construction.
“We go through a process each year of assessing the bus stops and locating them to accommodate those eligible for transportation,” said Presnal. “We are not aware of any concerns right now.”
Last spring high school Principal Pamela Hunter asked the school committee to approve lowering student parking fees from $100 per year to $50 temporarily during construction.
