Updated 8/27/25
Beginning in the 2025–2026 school year, Granville CSD will return to a single bus run for all school buildings—similar to the schedule used before COVID. This change replaces the current two-tiered system (separate runs for elementary and Jr/Sr High) with one unified route.
This update is designed to better support families by making it easier for students to get to school on time every day. By narrowing the gap between school start and end times across buildings, we’re creating a more consistent daily schedule for students and families alike. The single-run system will also simplify bus driver staffing and improve overall transportation efficiency.
To help ensure a safe and age-appropriate bus environment, Jr/Sr High students will sit in the back half of the bus, while elementary students will be seated in the front. This seating arrangement will help maintain a positive and respectful atmosphere for all riders.
For planning purposes, please review the updated start and end times for each school building below.
8/27/25 Update:
A Message from Superintendent Hall
Dear School Families,
At the August 25th, 2025 Board Meeting, the Board approved hiring Durrin Transportation for a 30-day emergency contract to ensure all of our students have rides to school by September 4th, 2025.
Here are the answers to the most frequently asked questions we have received.
If you prefer to listen or watch the replay of the August 25 Board of Education Meeting, here is the link.
Why do we have a driver shortage?
The district is facing a driver shortage due to a variety of reasons:
We have out-of-district placements for students that need drivers and some of those routes make a bus driver unavailable for afternoon extracurriculars, field trips and afternoon routes home from school.
The district has new routes within the district that require specialized transportation.
Two drivers and the transportation director have left the district.
And an anticipated need of one to more drivers is needed for the single bus route (as highlighted at the March 10th, 2025 Board Meeting).
Didn’t the district celebrate being fully staffed in May 2025?
Yes, we were fully staffed at that time, and we were proud that almost all of our transportation team came from right here in the Granville CSD community. Thank you to everyone who stepped up to support our schools!
But staffing and school operations can change quickly.
Over the summer, a number of things happened. Some transportation staff left, and two parents from our district stepped in to lead the transportation office with experience and dedication. They simultaneously had to learn the bus planning software and while creating a brand-new single-run route using this new software. That brought a lot of learning curves for our team.
So yes, we were fully staffed in May, but with staff changes and new systems in place, we now need more help to make sure everything runs smoothly for the new school year.
Why are we hiring Durrin Transportation and not our own staff?
We want to be very clear: our goal is to use only our own bus drivers and keep building up our district’s transportation team. But right now, we simply don’t have enough drivers to cover all the bus routes our students need.
To help during this time, the district has filed for a 30-day, short-term agreement with a local company called Durrin.
As more of our own Granville CSD drivers are hired and trained, we’ll start reducing the routes that Durrin covers.
This is a temporary solution so that every student can get to and from school safely while we work to fully staff our team.
Who will be impacted by Durrin Transportation?
Durrin will take over some of our out of district placements since they have long-standing, reliable routes with drivers to those locations who understand the unique needs of those routes.
Again, this is temporary until we can staff up and can permanently take over those routes.
This frees up our bus drivers to focus on fine-tuning our main routes and allows them to be available for extracurricular activities that our students need rides to.
The Superintendent has invited the families assigned to Durrin routes to reach out to him personally with any questions or concerns and assures families that Durrin riders will have three points of contact should any concerns come up: the Durrin staff, the GCSD transportation staff and the Superintendent’s office. Here is the number for the Superintendent’s office: 518-642-1051 Ext. 1301, or please email Superintendent Secretary, Ashlee Zinn at azinn@granvillecsd.org.
How is this impacting our Granville CSD bus drivers?
When the school district saw that we didn’t have enough bus drivers to cover all of our routes, we worked quickly to find a solution. School leaders talked with the union that represents our bus drivers to come up with a temporary plan.
Even though it wasn’t perfect, both the district and the union agreed that this was the best way to handle a tough situation. We’ve been working closely together to make sure drivers’ concerns are heard and supported.
This is only a short-term fix. The district is already taking steps to hire more drivers and will even help cover the cost for new drivers to get their CDL licenses. We’re doing everything we can to fully staff our team and get things back to normal as soon as possible.
Why do we have a single-bus run?
Prior to COVID, our district ran on a single-run bus route. We changed to two routes to improve spacing on the buses for health safety reasons during a time of unknown health challenges.
The return of the single bus run was discussed during the budget planning season at the March 10th, 2025 Board Meeting and was recommended by the transportation department to help with staffing and efficiency.
For reference, here is the link to the the details of that discussion are linked below beginning on page 14.
If you prefer to listen or watch the March 10th, 2025 presentation and discussion to the Board of Education that includes the single-route bus run proposal, here is the link to the March 10th meeting.
Who is Durrin?
Durrin is a 45-year school transportation company based in Argyle, NY. Durrin drivers also serve surrounding districts and are bound by the same licensing regulations as those employed by the Granville CSD.
In particular, Durrin has existing, long-standing routes to the five out-of-district locations some students need rides to.
This will ensure stability for our students who need the most consistency and free up our Granville CSD drivers for our morning, afternoon and extracurricular runs.
Will students be on the bus longer with a single-route plan?
Yes, some students may have a longer morning or afternoon route while others may not see much of a change.
Our transportation office and drivers will work on making improvements while drivers learn the new routes and see which students ride the bus regularly.
Some students take the bus every day, while others only ride on certain days. Some students start riding the bus later in the year when they feel more comfortable or want to come in early for free breakfast. Others may let us know they no longer need a ride.
There are many moving parts, but as we hire and train more drivers, we’ll keep improving the routes and work to shorten ride times for everyone.
How will you hire new drivers?
We welcome the opportunity to hire new Granville CSD drivers and invite the community to apply and become a member of our team. Here is the link to do so.
The district also has developed a plan to train up and reimburse bus monitors and non-CDL certified drivers to become full CDL drivers with a commitment of one year of service to Granville CSD, to encourage training and hiring from within our existing staff.
We ask for your patience and understanding while we make these adjustments and work diligently to prepare for the first day of school.
Stay in Touch
As a reminder, school families and community members are welcome to attend the open board meetings, as we have time set aside at the beginning and end of meetings for public participation. You can find the upcoming Board of Education meetings in our district calendar. www.granvillecsd.org/events
In addition, the school community is always welcome to contact our community coordinator Karin Rozell at krozell@granvillecsd.org or 518-642-1051 Ext 1317 to ask questions, request a clarification or to communicate to the school board or administrators on their behalf.
Questions about transportation? Please contact the Transportation Office Secretary, Ms. Coley at kcoley@granvillecsd.org or 518-642-1051 Ext. 5201.
IEP Transportation questions? Please contact the Superintendent's Office at 518-642-1051 Ext. 1301 or Superintendent Secretary, Ashlee Zinn at azinn@granvillecsd.org.
School Start and End Times
Granville Jr/Sr High School (JSHS)
Arrival and Breakfast 7:20 am - 7:45 am
School Day Starts (First Period) at 7:45 am
Dismissal at 2:15 pm
Buses Depart 2:20 pm
Granville Elementary School (GES)
GES Breakfast is 7:30 am - 7:50 am
GES Start Time is 7:55 am. Family Drop Off is 7:50 am. (Students in Class by 7:55 am)
GES End Time is 2:15 for Walkers and Student Pick Up. Bus Students 2:25pm.
Mary J. Tanner Primary School (MJT)
MJT Breakfast is 7:45 am - 8:00 am
MJT Start Time is 8:00 am. Family Drop Off is 7:45 am.(Students in Class by 8:00 am)
MJT End Time is 2:30 pm for Student Pick Up. Buses Leave by 2:40 pm.
UPK Drop Off is 8:15, Pick Up at 2:20. (Please Note: UPK Has No GCSD Transportation)
BUS AFTERNOON DEPARTURE TIMES
JSHS 2:20
GES 2:27
MJT 2:40
Can students enter the building at breakfast time, even if they aren't getting breakfast? What happens if my student is late, will they miss breakfast?
At the Jr/Sr High, students may enter as early as 7:20am whether they choose to get breakfast or not during cold weather and can wait in the gym prior to first period. If the weather is warm, students may enter at 7:30am. Grab and go breakfasts are available if they are late, until 9:30 am.
At Granville Elementary (GES), students will not be in the building unless the weather requires it or they have arrived early for breakfast. Students will have the ability to grab and go breakfasts at GES if they are late.
At Mary J. Tanner Primary School (MJT), students may enter the building starting at 7:45 am even if they are not getting breakfast. If they enter by 8:15 am they will have access to breakfast at MJT.
RESOURCES
Here is the link to the March 10th, 2025 Board of Education Meeting (Select Budget Presentation #1) - Please see page 19 of potential bus changes for the 2025-2026 School Year.
Here is a link to a Spectrum News article on the statewide bus driver shortage.
My K12 Bus App - Here is the link to a free app to track your students' bus during the school year.
Need help getting to school on time? Here is the link to the Community School page to review the attendance tips section.
Not sure who to contact? Here is a link to all the school departments.
Questions about transportation? Please contact the Transportation Office Secretary, Ms. Coley at kcoley@granvillecsd.org or 518-642-1051 Ext. 5201.
IEP Transportation questions? Please contact the Superintendent's Office at 518-642-1051 Ext. 1301 or Ms. Ashlee Zinn at azinn@granvillecsd.org.