LOWELL -- When it comes to the many variables of school busing, some believe it's time to ask the computers.
It's a solution gaining momentum in the Lowell Public Schools as the district tries to navigate the mounting physical, legal and financial challenges of getting students to class.
Earlier this month the School Committee voted 5-1 to draft a contract with the same Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor who offered a computer algorithm-based solution to the Boston Public Schools. The contract, which comes with promises for a potential $1 million in district transportation savings, is expected to come before the School Committee for approval at an upcoming meeting.
In 2017, MIT professor Dimitris Bertsimas and two of his advisees used their computer algorithm to develop a plan that would have reduced Boston's transportation budget and shifted most high school students to later start times. According to MIT's Sloan School of Management, the algorithm was developed by combining traffic data from Google Maps with information provided by the Boston district, like assigned schools.
Using mapping software and optimization techniques, it created plans for the district that could maximize the number of students on a bus, reduce the number of routes and stops, and cut the time empty buses spend on the road, according to MIT.
Ultimately, the high-profile proposal, which could have generated large savings for the Boston district, didn't move forward.
Opposition from parents concerned about significant shifts in start times, some exceeding two hours, stymied the proposal, the Boston Globe reported.
Unions and some city councilors joined in the outcry. The algorithm also had defenders who said the plan would have addressed inequalities in the district, and many who opposed it came from whiter, wealthier parts of the city, according to media reports.
Boston did adopt a different plan developed by the algorithm, which reduced the large district's 650 buses to 598 buses for a savings of $5 million, Bertsimas told Lowell School Committee members during a subcommittee meeting earlier this month.
He declined to speak with The Sun until a contract is signed with the Lowell schools.
He described this potential contract with Lowell as a five-year agreement that would charge the district a portion of its savings and allow the district to keep the software.
For example, if the district decides to pursue the plan with large cost savings and reduce expenses by $1 million annually, a "conservative" estimate, his company would be paid 20 percent or $200,000 annually during this period, according to meeting minutes. For perspective, the district expects to drop $11.4 million on transportation costs between public, charter and parochial schools this year.
The savings realized by the district would be influenced by the changes the district is willing to make regarding assigned schools and start times, Bertsimas told the subcommittee. If the district were to rezone based on a plan he discussed, Bertsimas believes about 30 percent of students could change schools, though he said he can also develop plans with fewer school changes or more gradual shifts.
He said the company can design a plan that remains within the city's 1988 federal desegregation decree.
Two days after Bertsimas' presentation on Feb. 4, School Committee member Gerry Nutter passionately argued for a change to busing starting next school year, citing upcoming bridge construction projects that would lengthen the time students spend on buses.
Parents at the meeting and other School Committee members weren't onboard with some of the changes or the timeline, which they said offered too little time to get community input on major changes.
School Committee member Connie Martin called Nutter's request "a draconian approach."
"It's not a matter of getting information out," Martin said. "It's a matter of truly listening."
The district's tight finances and rising transportation costs have influenced the call for a revised busing system.
Earlier this year, district Interim Assistant Business Manager of Transportation John Descoteaux told the School Committee a change to charter school busing required by the city's Planning Board was expected to raise district transportation costs by $350,000 or $450,000. At the time, school administrators said they planned to meet with the Collegiate Charter School of Lowell regarding this increase.
Descoteaux also developed a transportation plan that could save the district between $675,000 and $825,000, but move 45 percent of students to different schools. Professors at UMass Lowell expressed interest in tackling the issue, but were unable to develop something that could be ready to implement next fall.
An earlier push to move to neighborhood schools crumpled after Descoteaux reported the Centralville section of the city did not have enough classroom space to absorb the growing student population under this structure.
In the same vote that ordered drafting a contract with Bertsimas and his company, the Lowell School Committee agreed 5-1 to push any implementation of rezoning to fall 2020.
School Committee member Dominik Lay, who voted against the motion, said he was generally favorable to exploring changes to busing, but opposed placing this time limit. School Committee member Andre Descoteaux was absent.