Parents pick up their children at Trinity Lutheran Church north of Grant. The church has served as one of Perkins County Schools’ rural transportation hubs since the district replaced door-to-door busing with centralized stops in 2020. For the 2026-27 school year, the district expanded from four to six stops by adding locations near Brandon and at Kenton Heights, while continuing service at Trinity Lutheran and in Venango, Madrid and Elsie.
Perkins County Schools expands rural bus stops for new year
BY SAMANTHA GOFF
GRANT TRIBUNE-SENTINEL
Perkins County Schools has expanded its rural transportation options for the 2026-27 school year, adding stops near Brandon and at Kenton Heights while continuing service at four established transportation hubs.
The district now operates three rural “trunk” routes serving six pickup and drop-off locations. The west route serves Brandon and Venango; the north route serves Kenton Heights and Trinity Lutheran Church; and the east route serves Madrid and Elsie.
The addition of the Brandon and Kenton Heights stops gives families in those areas another option for getting children to and from school. Under the district’s previous hub system, rural stops were available in Madrid, Elsie and Venango and at Trinity Lutheran Church north of Grant.
Perkins County Schools moved from door-to-door rural busing to centralized hubs in 2020, citing difficulty finding and retaining qualified bus drivers, reducing wear on district buses and an estimated annual savings of approximately $60,000.
The transportation system became the subject of renewed community discussion last fall when rural parent Megan Apolius asked the Perkins County Schools Board of Education to consider a hybrid approach combining central hubs with additional transportation options.
Apolius said at the time that she was not seeking to eliminate the hub system but hoped the district could find a balanced solution that improved access for families while remaining realistic about staffing and costs.
Under this year’s schedule, the west route begins at Venango Community Church at 7:05 a.m., followed by the Brandon stop at 7:15 a.m. Afternoon drop-off is scheduled for 3:50 p.m. in Brandon and 4 p.m. in Venango.
The north route picks up students at Trinity Lutheran Church at 7:10 a.m. and at the Kenton Heights stop in the Pheasant Run Golf Course parking lot at 7:23 a.m. Afternoon drop-off is at 3:45 p.m. at Kenton Heights and 4:05 p.m. at Trinity Lutheran.
The east route begins at the Elsie Post Office at 7 a.m., followed by the Madrid Post Office at 7:20 a.m. Students are dropped off at 3:55 p.m. in Madrid and 4:10 p.m. in Elsie.
Families using district transportation were required to register their students before the beginning of the school year so officials could finalize routes, coordinate pickup and drop-off times and ensure adequate bus capacity.