Interim Superintendent of Schools Lorrie Rodrigue shared an update on transportation with district parents and staff the morning of Monday, October 2.at its meeting on September 19 regarding the reconfigured transportation system for the 2017-18 school year.concerns have been raised by members of the public at school board meetings

. Since the start of the school year, Board of Education members voiced approval of Dr Rodrigue's proposal to form a task force to look at transportation, following concerns shared by members of the public

In an e-mail to parents and staff, Dr Rodrigue wrote that a task force has been created "to review remaining issues with transportation."

"The group," the e-mail read, "[is] comprised of parents, teachers, school leaders, Board of Education members, central office personnel, and [All-Star Transportation] staff, will work to resolve concerns related to transportation and determine a plan to address these. We have only scheduled five meetings, as we know there is a need for urgency in finding a solution."

The first meeting was held on Friday, September 29, and the final meeting of the five planned meetings is slated for near the end of October. The task force is expected to share its conclusions with the school board, according to the district.

According to the e-mail, the first Task Force meeting had members discuss "concerns we are still dealing with across schools, particularly at the [kindergarten to sixth grade] level, and set priorities for our work. A few of the priority issues we will review include, but are not limited to, bus timeliness to schools in the [morning], length of rides for specific buses, and additional 'wait' time for students during elementary drop off and during [afternoon] dismissal (with shuttles). All of these areas have implications for both students and our school staff."

The letter continued to thank members of the community for sharing thoughts, feedback, and concerns.

"I will continue to update parents regarding the work of the task force," the e-mail read. "We are confident that an appropriate solution will be found so that we can move forward and focus on what's most important for our students - teaching and learning."

The Board of Education's next scheduled meeting is Tuesday, October 3, at Newtown Municipal Center, at 7:30 pm.