August 1, 2024

Dear Parent/Guardian:

I hope everyone is enjoying the summer and getting ready for the school year. I have included information regarding food service and transportation in this newsletter for the upcoming 2024-25 school year.

Food Service

Carter Elementary:  Breakfast will be in the classroom and lunch will be in the cafeteria.

Kuehn Haven Middle School: Breakfast will be in the classroom for 4^th – 6^th grades. Breakfast for 7^th grade will be in the cafeteria from 7:15am – 7:45am. Lunch for all grades will be in the cafeteria.

Hill McCloy High School, grades 8-12:  Breakfast will be in the cafeteria from 7:15am – 7:45am.We also have a breakfast cart that is available by the front entrance from 7:15am – 7:45am.  Lunch will be in the cafeteria for all grades.

The district is enrolled again in the Community Eligibility Program (CEP).This means that all students eat breakfast and lunch for free. There is an educational benefit form that should be filled out by each family. The form collects information needed to ensure the school receives state and federal funding for educational purposes. A paper copy is included in this mailing and the website is https://montrose.familyportal.cloud if you prefer to do it online. If you are filling out the paper form, please fill it out and return the form to the Administration Building or your child’s school office.

Lunch prices for the 2024-25 school year are FREE for all students this year.

Milk is included with the lunch or is $0.50 if purchased separately. A la carte items will be available at the schools for purchase.

August and September menus will be available on the website.  They will also be handed out on the first day of school.

Parents can log onto https://montrose.familyportal.cloud to view and deposit money to their child’s lunch account.  Again, all breakfasts and lunches are free but students can buy some a la carte items or a second lunch if they would like. This way parents can keep track of their child’s purchases and deposit money via credit card, debit card or e-check. If you do not use the online system, please put your child’s lunch money in an envelope and have it labeled with their name, grade, lunch number, and amount included. We accept cash and check at the register. 

Transportation

We have 11 bus runs again this year. Enclosed are the 11 routes, the roads these buses will travel, and approximate pick up and drop off times. We run one K-12 bus route.  Students will all have assigned seats. We try to keep elementary students in the front, middle school students towards the middle and high school students in the back. We will try to assign families to the same seat. Please be patient the first few weeks as we learn our routes and students.

Please remember to have your child at the bus stop 5 minutes prior to their pick up time. At the end of the school day, the buses will be lined up numbered 1 – 11. The bus drivers are very good about making sure they have the correct students on their buses, but it is also very helpful if parents review this information with their child and that your child knows their bus number.

The “transportation address” that the school goes by is the address that is entered into the online registration at the beginning of the year. This information is to be updated annually. If your child needs to ride the bus daily from a daycare, grandparent’s home, or other than the original address; please make sure that the correct address is listed. There are also forms available online under Departments- Transportation- Pick up and Drop off Form if you need to make a change mid-year. You can also call the appropriate building or the transportation office to make a permanent change mid-year. Please have the pick-up and drop off information updated to the school by August 19, 2024 so we have time to adjust bus routes.

 In an effort to provide an efficient busing system, we will continue with our “NO BUS PASS” system. With having a consistent “transportation address” for all children, this eliminates the need for bus passes. BUS DRIVERS CANNOT ACCEPT BUS CHANGES.

The bus drivers and I are working very hard to make this school year a smooth one. We will be strict on discipline when it comes to vulgar language and inappropriate actions on the bus. We have leased 11 buses for the school year. Please take some time to talk to your child about proper bus behavior and keeping our buses clean. We need to return these buses in the same condition we received them in.  If your child does any damage to the bus or the seats, they will have to reimburse the school for the damages.

Security Cameras and Bus Radios

The district has every bus equipped with three security cameras that can be reviewed to determine if or when disciplinary action is necessary. Please have a conversation with your child about proper behavior on the buses. We have also added a stop arm camera to help with identifying vehicles that pass the buses while the red lights are flashing. We have digital radios in our buses for communication. The radios work great and will help ensure that your child has a safe ride to and from school.   

 Parents of Carter Elementary students

We ask that our drivers make visual contact with someone at their drop off location before letting your child off the bus. We understand that each individual situation is different, but please take the time to make sure your child’s bus driver knows who will be there to get your child off the bus. If there is not a parent/guardian at the stop, the child will be brought back to Carter Elementary. If you are comfortable with your child going home without visual contact, we will allow them to get off the bus without a parent/guardian present. To do this, you must have a written note on file with the school. A new form needs to be filled out each year. The form is located at www.montroseschools.org; under Departments - Transportation - Pick up and Drop off form. This also can be noted in the online registration.  You can pick a form up at the Carter office or the Administration building. The bottom half of the form is for the no visual.  Riverside Crossing and Marshall’s Crossing students will NOT be allowed to walk home from the pick up/drop off location without a note on file.  The pick up and drop off location for Riverside Crossing and Marshall’s Crossing will be at the mailboxes at each park.

The bus drivers and food service staff are working very hard to get ready for this school year. If you have any questions regarding the food service and transportation departments, please feel free to contact me at 810-591-8854. Thank you and enjoy the rest of your summer!

Sincerely,

Angie Florian

Transportation and Food Service Supervisor