Assistant Superintendent David Bridal told the board longer bus rides reflect a national driver shortage, increased ridership including nonpublic students, and a push to run fuller buses; he said most routes now run 45–55 minutes but staff expect improvements.

Finance report flagged a $93,562 decrease in transportation funding tied to a statewide formula change; district will deploy an IT ridership-tracking system and urged families to support regular bus ridership to improve funding snapshots.

Vince Jackson of Comet reported April 2026 systemwide ridership rose 27% compared with the prior period, and he said Comet’s recent switch to automatic passenger counters means an apples‑to‑apples breakdown will be available in the July report.