Transportation - Middleburgh Central School District

Transportation Overview

The Middleburgh Central School District operates under transportation guidelines approved by the Board of Education.

The District provides transportation to and from a student’s legal residence and/or one alternate location along regularly scheduled bus routes district-wide.

Visit the Employment page for information on becoming a bus driver at MCS.

Alternative Pick-Ups or Drop-Offs

The guidelines allow for two (2) pick-ups and/or drop-offs:

ONE at the student’s legal residence and/or
ONE alternate location.

Any students requiring transportation to an alternate location must complete the Alternate Transportation/Emergency Closing/Parent Transport Form and return it to the Transportation Department before August 19 of the next school year. Any subsequent changes to the approved location will only be considered for permanent changes only.

Student(s) who will not need district provided transportation please complete parent transport section on the Alternate Transportation/Emergency Closing/Parent Transport Form and return it to the Transportation Department before August 19 of the next school year.

If you are having trouble accessing the form, please contact Shannon Smith.

Transportation will not be provided to non-school activities such as, but not limited to: Girl Scouts, Boy Scouts, bowling, birthday parties, sleepovers, employment, or religious activities.

Bus notes required for any changes

Bus notes are required on each day the student will not be riding his/her approved pick-up and/or drop off. (parent transport/school sponsored event). If the approved alternate location is not used on a consistent basis (as identified on submitted alternate transportation form) then a bus note must be submitted every time the alternate route will be used. Bus notes will not be accepted if they are for locations other than the approved legal residence or alternate location. Bus notes need the following information to be approved: physical address of alternate location, parent/guardian phone number and signature.

All bus notes need to be received by 9:00 a.m. Faxes, phone calls, texts, and emails will not be accepted. Additional bus notes are available in the main office.

In the event of an emergency dismissal the District will follow the parent/guardian’s instructions on the emergency closing sheet. Parent/guardians are responsible for keeping the information up–to-date.

P.M. drop-off requirement for students in 3rd grade and under

The school district requires a parent/guardian, older sibling or other responsible party (grade 4 or higher) to be at the bus stop in the afternoon for students 3rd grade and under. Due to safety concerns, if there is no responsible party at the bus stop the student will be taken back to the Bus Garage located at 164 Main Street, where they will need to be picked up by 4:00 p.m. Only when a student is being returned to the Bus Garage will phone calls be made to the parent/guardian.

All forms need to be returned to the Transportation Department by August 19, prior to the start of the new school year. All requests received after this date will not be able to be honored at the start of school. Parents will need to provide alternative transportation until the request can be processed by the Transportation Department.

BusRight App

Middleburgh Central School District utilizes BusRight – a transportation app that allows parents and guardians to, in real-time, follow their student’s bus route to and from school, receive notifications when the bus begins and ends its route, view the expected arrival time, and receive ad-hoc communications from the Transportation Department.

A guide to the BusRight app – including download links, training videos, and more – can be found here.

Note: if you ever log in to the system and observe that the bus appears to be offline, it does not mean the bus route is not in operation – it is most likely the result of one of the following reasons:

The bus route has completed its run and is back at the bus lot and not turned on.
The driver is using a spare vehicle that is not equipped with BusRight’s GPS tracking system.
The GPS Tracking system on the vehicle is not online due to technical issues.
If the route does not show as an option on your route list, you may not be assigned to the stop in the BusRight system. You should contact the Transportation Department at John.Youmans@mcsdny.org or shannon.smith@mcsdny.org.

As always, questions about your child’s bus stop or route should be directed to the Middleburgh Transportation Department at 518-827-3630 or John.Youmans@mcsdny.org or shannon.smith@mcsdny.org.

Questions or issues regarding the use of the BusRight app should be directed to support@busright.com.

PRIVATE SCHOOL TRANSPORTATION REQUESTS

The parent or person in parental relation of a parochial or private school child residing in the School District who desires that the child be transported to a parochial or private school outside of the School District during the next school year should submit a written request to the Board of Education no later than April 1 of the preceding year, or within thirty (30) days of moving into the District. No late request of a parent or person in parental relation shall be denied where a reasonable explanation is provided for the delay. A student who resides up to fifteen (15) miles from a nonpublic school, where he/she is enrolled, is eligible for transportation. Requests for transportation to nonpublic schools must be approved by the Board of Education. Complete and return the Request for Transportation to Non-Public Schools form to the MCS Bus Garage by April 1.

Transportation to Nonpublic Schools on Holidays

When a holiday falls on a Saturday or Sunday, the Board of Education may choose to close on Friday or Monday in observance of the holiday. However, if the District has not shared its calendar and informed nonpublic schools that it will not transport on the optional holiday, the District is required to provide pupil transportation services on that day to nonpublic schools that are open.

Transportation for Nonpublic School Students with Disabilities who are Parentally Placed

For students with disabilities (ages 5 through 21) who are parentally placed in nonpublic schools outside their district of residency, if special education services are to be provided to a student at a site other than the nonpublic school, the school district of location is responsible for providing the special education services, including, as applicable, arranging and providing transportation necessary for the student to receive special education services. The proportionate share of IDEA Part B dollars could be used for such purposes. The school district of residence remains responsible to provide transportation to parentally placed nonpublic school students from the student’s home to the nonpublic school.