Bus Cuts Could Leave Melrose's METCO Students Behind

MELROSE, MA — There are more than 100 students from Boston who have to wake up at 5 a.m. just to catch the school bus that arrives before most of their classmates even roll over to check their phone each morning.

Should they miss the bus, there's another option. Find your way to the Orange Line, get your butt to Oak Grove and take the bus to whatever stop is closest to the school you're trying to get to.

"It's definitely a commitment," district METCO Program Director Amy Jackson told Patch.

Now that fallback option is in peril.

The MBTA's proposed cuts include the 131 and 136 bus routes, both of which stop at Oak Grove and travel through Melrose. The MBTA is also proposing to close Cedar Park station.

"If they cut both there's no way to get into Melrose," Jackson said.

Those kids — Melrose has 117 METCO students this year, and more in non-pandemic years — would join the local commuters and businesses as those most impacted by the MBTA's proposed cuts.

METCO participants are students from Boston who learn in the district through a federally funded program. It's a win-win relationship, Jackson says.

"The program is very, very important because it's been around so long and it adds diversity into the community," Jackson said. "It also gives the students in Boston an opportunity to receive a better education and have better opportunities to go to college and have better experiences that they would not have if they attend Boston Public Schools."

Each school in Melrose except for the Franklin has METCO students. The district has six buses — they needed to add two this year due to COVID-19 guidelines — that drive into Boston in the morning and afternoon. The ride home can take up to two hours sometimes, and if a student is staying after school, playing sports or seeing friends, they usually take public transportation back.

Parents without a car who need to pick up their kids from school will need to get creative. Students who are trying to come to Melrose on the weekend for a school event or just hang out will have an even harder time — commuter rail service at what would be the city's two remaining stations would be cut as part of a systemwide weekend shutdown of the commuter rail.

It's a deep disappointment for Jackson.

"The whole point is to integrate the students into Melrose, so we want to them stay after school, to participate in extra activities," she said.

The METCO program doesn't just benefit the students who wake up at 5 a.m. for an extra-long day. Melrose will suffer, too.

"It enriches the culture. It brings diversity," Jackson said. "When you start to bring people together from different backgrounds and cultures you start to learn about yourself, about other people, and gets you ready for the real world when you graduate."

You can reach Mike Carraggi at mike.carraggi@patch.com and follow him on Twitter @PatchCarraggi. Subscribe to Melrose Patch for free local news alerts and newsletters