Metro Advisory Task Force

The METRO Advisory Committee has been formed to provide feedback and suggestions and facilitate community outreach regarding the new plan to have Greater Portland METRO buses transport Portland Public Schools’ high school students to and from school and also to and from extracurricular activities, starting this fall.

The new committee also plans to take a multimodal look at the various alternative ways students get to school, such as by walking and bicycling, to ensure that students can access those means of transportation easily and safely as well.

Members of the METRO Advisory Committee are:

John Eder, Portland Board of Public Education

Stephanie Hatzenbuler, Portland Board of Public Education

John Phan, Portland Board of Public Education – student representative

Sahra Ahmed, Portland Board of Public Education – student representative

Sophie VanDerburgh, Portland Board of Public Education – student representative

Ed Suslovic, City of Portland City Council

Craig Worth, Chief Operations Officer - Portland Public Schools

Kathie Marquis-Girard, Assistant Principal – Portland  High School

Greg Jordan, General Manager – METRO

Denise Beck, Director of Marketing – METRO

Abusana Bondo, Parent

Matt Osman, Student

Sarah Cushman, Parent

METRO Open House

Families of students who will attend a Portland Public Schools’ high school this fall are invited to attend informational open houses this month about the new plan to have Greater Portland METRO buses transport high school students to and from school and extracurricular activities, starting in September.

The METRO open house meetings will be held at Deering, Casco Bay and Portland high schools, and are designed to answer parents’ questions and provide details about the way METRO transportation for students will work. The meetings will feature an approximately 25-minute presentation by METRO staff.

The METRO open house meetings will take place at the following locations, dates and times:

• Deering High School, June 9, 6 p.m., in the DHS library

• Casco Bay High School, June 10, 5 p.m., in the Great Space

• Portland High School, June 17, 6:30 p.m., in the PHS auditorium

Families of rising ninth-graders – eighth-grade students who will enter ninth grade this fall – are encouraged to attend the meetings, as are families of students who will be in 10th, 11th or 12th grade. The meetings at each school will cover the same information, so families should feel free to attend the meeting on the date most convenient for them, even if their child attends another one of the high schools.

Starting in September, METRO buses will transport most Portland Public Schools’ high school students. The school district will continue to provide specialized transportation for high school students who need it.