July 1, 2025

Dear Marmot Parents,

I hope everyone’s summer is going well so far! The weather is much warmer, and summer is definitely here.

I’m reaching out today to inform you that for the 2025–26 school year, the two Ross Montessori bus routes will be combined into a single route.

The new route will include the portions of the Down Valley and Up Valley bus routes that have shown the highest ridership over the past two years. In fact, this new, consolidated route will serve 90% of the total ridership that the two separate routes covered in previous years.

This decision was not made lightly. A variety of factors were considered—budget, enrollment, staffing, and bus maintenance. Taking all of these into account—along with the ridership data we’ve collected—we determined that combining the routes was the best course of action.

We understand that the new route does not include service east of Carbondale. Due to low and inconsistent ridership in that area, we had to make the very difficult decision to exclude it from the route. Additionally, the amount of time required to service that area with a single bus route was prohibitive for other stops with higher ridership. I am happy to assist families affected by this change in connecting with other Ross parents to explore carpooling options.

Mr. Dan Pfauth, our former Bus 2 driver, will be the primary driver for the new route, and I will serve as the backup driver. Mr. Stephen Bershenyi, the former Bus 1 driver, has retired after more than 20 years of service with both the Roaring Fork School District and Ross Montessori School. We wish him all the best in his retirement!

I will continuously monitor ridership on the new route to ensure we are operating as efficiently as possible and serving our Marmot students and families well. Our transportation team is committed to providing safe and reliable service for many years to come.