HUDSON — The Select Board addressed the topic of potential bus storage at Mulready Elementary School and read a statement on the board’s perspective regarding the situation at its Jan. 22 meeting.
At the School Committee meeting on Jan. 9, Mulready parents expressed concerns about the potential of storing buses in the school lot, specifically about safety and air quality concerns. The new Department of Public Works facility may not include the current storage space being used by the school district.
Speaking as the chair of the Select Board, Scott Duplisea said the board had received a number of inquiries from Mulready parents, who requested to speak about the bus contract renewal under the citizen’s issues agenda item.
Duplisea said, “I asked the executive assistant [Thomas Gregory] to respond to these inquiries by requesting that the residents wait until the bids are open tomorrow with the school department so that the most up-to-date information can be shared with the public.
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“As you’re aware, the current school bus transportation contract allows a vendor to store the buses at the DPW yard on Cox Street. Construction on the new DPW facility will begin this spring, and this site unfortunately will not have the capacity to accommodate bus storage.”
Duplisea said in early 2023 that there were discussions about this held between municipal and school officials to allow for the schools to plan for the bus contract renewal. The board was aware that the bid specifications will ask vendors to offer costs for storage on school property or a private one they supply.
The board acknowledged the concerns community members spoke about regarding Mulready Elementary School as a storage location, and asked that school officials, who are working with Gregory, be given enough time to consider all potential options.
He thanked the residents for their understanding and noted that the school department has to “do their due diligence to figure out what the future is going to be for the buses.”
The town will be involved, Duplisea said, as the school district and town department are “all one eventually,” but the lead rested with the school district leaders to find the best situation.
