City and school officials are continuing to study whether high school students should ride Alexandria’s DASH public buses instead of traditional yellow school buses, part of a joint City‑Schools committee review that council members said is intended to examine safety, operations and potential cost savings.

The question — raised from a card submitted to the town hall — prompted Vice Mayor Bagley to point attendees to recorded presentations to the joint committee that addressed safety and ridership. “There are already youth riding our DASH buses,” she said, adding that the committee would next examine “operations and cost.”

Council members repeatedly framed the discussion as exploratory. “What we are proposing is would it be, an economic gain? Would it be an efficiency?” Councilman Chapman said during the town hall. “The point is not to spend more money.”

Councilman El Nuby said ACPS already does not provide school bus transportation for high school students living within 1.5 miles of the school unless they lack a safe walking route, which means some students currently rely on DASH. “Dash was free for students before it was free for the public,” he said, noting students already use the service.

City officials described the review process as multi‑step: the joint committee has had presentations on the current state of school transportation and on safety; a third presentation on operations and cost is expected. Council members said they are collecting questions from council, the school board, PTA groups and others and that any change would require separate community engagement and approval by both governing bodies.

Officials also noted operational and policy details remain to be resolved. Questions raised at the meeting included who would pay for additional safety equipment or training, whether state requirements that apply to yellow school buses (for example, certain camera standards) would apply to DASH if the agency’s vehicles were designated for student transport, and how any savings would be allocated back to schools. Vice Mayor Bagley and other council members urged residents to review the joint committee’s recorded sessions for more detail.

The council gave no directive or formal vote at the town hall. Instead, members described the work as a fact‑finding and planning process that will include further presentations to the City and to the Alexandria City Public Schools (ACPS) board and community engagement before any policy changes.

Officials urged residents with safety concerns or questions about DASH operations to review the committee materials on the city website and to participate in forthcoming engagement sessions.

Ending: The joint City‑Schools committee will continue scheduled presentations; further community engagement and formal decisions will follow those staff and committee findings.