LIVERMORE FALLS – Parents in SAD 36 have been reminded that the district’s bus rules will be strictly enforced when single-run busing begins Nov. 29.

In a notice dated Nov. 18, Transportation Supervisor David Brackett asks parents to review the rules with their children. Breaking the rules carries punishments ranging from written warnings to suspension of bus privileges.

It had been a busy week, Superintendent Terry Despres told school directors Thursday night. Final training had taken place for the drivers and the new bus monitors, 10 educational technicians and 10 parents.

Under the new single-run schedule, middle school students will be released first so they can be loaded and out before traffic from the high school begins, Despres said.

A great deal of time, effort and energy has gone into setting the new schedules, he said, with the result that an in-town pickup has been incorporated and a late bus added, he said.

A primary reason for changing to the single run is money, Despres explained. In the grade school, 90 percent of the cost is for staff, while in transportation, 72 percent of the total cost is for equipment and fuel.

Cutting one run will result in a reduction of almost 40 percent in fleet and fuel costs, the superintendent said. The district’s 14 buses all must be replaced within a 10-year period at a cost of $750,000, he explained. “If we can cut that in half, you’ve got major savings.”

An additional savings is being realized as Brackett is providing supervisory transportation services for Winthrop as well as SAD 36.

Three more school systems – Auburn, Lisbon and Oxford Hills – have joined the regionalization effort, Despres reported, bringing the total number to 14, from Lisbon to Bethel, divided into northern, central and southern regions.

A large group carries great leverage, he explained, and produces many innovative ideas on how to share and not duplicate. “Every budget item we need to ask, `Can we regionalize?'” he said.

One potential savings Despres sees would be in payroll, which now costs each school about $85,000 a year for the program and a clerk. A program can be purchased for $40,000 that can cut 8,000 checks, rather than 200, and thus could serve several districts.

At the next two meetings, the board will deal with the establishment of a regional day treatment center.