Nahant and Swampscott School Committees Talk Buses

Nahant School Committee members asked counterparts from Swampscott for ideas on how to save money on special education transportation and how to keep kids in line during bus rides to school.

The committees' members sat across from each other Tuesday at Nahant Town Hall in a rare joint meeting. Nahant sends it middle and high school students to and .

In November, there were 152 students from Nahant attending Swampscott schools. Nahant was paying Swampscott a tuition of $8,428 per student. 

Christine Kendall, Nahant's chairwoman, said the number of children with special needs in Nahant is increasing dramatically, for a small town.

And the Nahant budget is taking a hit on transportation costs for students who travel for services in the region, committee members said.

They wanted to know what Swampscott recommended as a way to save money.

Superintendent Lynne Celli said the Swampscott District contracts with North Reading transportation for its out of district placement transportation.

Swampscott students board a bus on an existing route with stops in area towns.

The superintendent suggested that Nahant officials try the same thing.

Swampscott has also seen its number of students with special needs increase — by about a third over the past 3-5 years, according to the program director.