Manteca Unified enrollment has grown by 1,000 students since the 2022-2023 school year.

The same time period has seen an increase of 689 students that are eligible to ride a bus to and from school due to the distance they reside from their assigned “home” campus.

That means 7 out of every 10 new students are moving into neighborhoods that are either outside of the 1.25-mile radius for K-8 students or the 2.5 mile radius for high school students — the distances that determine eligibility for general bus transportation to and from school.

Student enrollment is now at 25,623, up from 24,616 in 2022-2023.

Meanwhile, students being bused to and from school is now at 2,786, up from 2,097 in 2022-2023.

The district now has 63 buses and vans compared to 56 three years ago.

The building of two new elementary schools in the next two years in fast growing southwest Manteca is expected to slow down the growth in bus ridership.

Public schools in California are not required by the state to provide busing for students unless they are enrolled in special education or are homeless.

The state does not provide funding for busing of students that are not enrolled in special ed programs or are homeless.

More and more students at the high school level are taking Manteca Transit buses to and from school.

The city this month implemented tweaked routes that make the timing of bus service that coincides better with the final morning bell and the dismissal bell at Manteca, Sierra, and East Union high school campuses.

A special morning “Sierra” route that goes further into areas south of the 120 Bypass than the fixed route that serves southwest Manteca was added this month. It also connects with neighborhoods west of the golf course and north of Crom Street that were shifted to the Sierra High attendance area from East Union High.

Non-students can also use the “Sierra” bus to reach other destinations in Manteca.

To contact Dennis Wyatt, email dwyatt@mantecabulletin.com