By MATT LINDSEY

POTSDAM -- A transportation study at Potsdam Central School identified the need for bus routing software and GPS capabilities on all buses before the district can possibly move forward with changing student start times.

PCS has been exploring the prospect of what an earlier start time for middle and high school students might have on the district and its students.

The routing technology is expected to be purchased soon and implemented in coming months, ready for next year’s busing, according to PCS Superintendent Joann Chambers.

The transportation study detailed efficiency, cost-cutting measures and a comprehensive look at what would happen if school started later.

The routing software will hopefully make it clear whether or not the school can switch start times between the elementary school with the middle and high schools.

“We expect to revisit this next year,” Chambers said.

It is still unknown if transportation of students would be handled with one or two runs. The hope is that the software makes this more obvious.

Chambers, who said she did not completely understand how the software worked, said the program pulls a variety of info, not just a student’s home address.

“Often there are other arrangements for where a student goes after school,” she said. “It uses real-time data for its calculation.”

GPS and routing is the first step in this process, Chambers said.

The district plans to purchase three buses to replace older ones. PCS also wants to buy a van to transport smaller groups, or even a single student.

Chambers said there are situations such as a homeless student that needs a way to school or small groups that would benefit from having a smaller vehicle.

PCS is sometimes sending a larger bus and by having a van the school could realize some savings, the superintendent says.