Penn Hills School District cutting bus routes for upcoming school year

PENN HILLS, Pa. — In the past, if a family lived in Penn Hills, whether your kid attended the district schools or a charter school, they all rode on the same school bus.

Now, the district will outsource several routes to cut costs, forcing some students to catch PRT buses to get to class.

Sixth grader Matthew Priester will have to catch three PRT buses to school and three PRT buses back home this upcoming school year now that his bus route was cut.

On Wednesday, Penn Hills School District announced plans to reconfigure its bus routes. The district says the move will save more than $400,000 but will eliminate certain bus routes for students like Matthew, who attends the Environmental Charter School in the East End neighborhood.

“He would have to take a bus off of Mount Carmel road, get off in either Shadyside or East Liberty and take a bus from that general area to Highland Park,” Scott Priester said.

A more than 40 minute commute. And he isn’t alone.

The district will also cut the following routes:

• LIFE Male STEAM Academy
• Westinghouse Arts Academy Charter School
• Propel Andrew Street High School
• Propel Braddock Hills
• Environmental Charter School

“Why am I paying taxes when I’m not getting the use of my tax dollars?” Steve Clarey said.

Clarey’s daughters attend Propel Braddock Hills. He and his wife opted to send their girls to the charter school after Penn Hills School District was deemed low-performing. He says at the time they were assured that wouldn’t have an impact on transportation.

“My wife lost her job two years ago, two school years ago, due to transportation in Penn Hills, not supplying a bus half the time and never calling or calling and canceling,” Carey said.

The district told Channel 11 News that they did an evaluation of all of their 93 routes and deemed these cuts to be the most cost-efficient. They also said they put safety first and will not change routes for any elementary students.

But the parents we spoke with say they would have liked to have been a part of the decision process.

The district is encouraging parents to visit their website for more details and say that they plan to send out more information at the beginning of August.

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