Kalispell Public Schools Transportation Fast Facts
District & Route Characteristics
- Ridership: Kalispell Public Schools safely transports thousands of students to and from school every day.
- Elementary & Middle School Coverage: Serves 63.2 square miles across 6 elementary sites and 1 middle school site.
- High School Coverage: Serves an expansive 1,212 square miles across Flathead County for 2 high schools.
- Annual Mileage: Home-to-school travel totals nearly 500,000 miles annually across the district.
Fleet & Operations
District-Owned Buses
- 15 Buses: Provide specialized transportation for district students in special programs across elementary, middle, and high school sites. Also provides state/federally mandated services (such as McKinney-Vento).
- 3 Buses: Provide standard daily route transportation for middle school and elementary school students.
- Overcrowding & Out-of-District Policy: Students placed in an alternate elementary school due to enrollment capacity are provided transportation when necessary. However, busing is not available for out-of-district students.
Contracted Bus Routes
To fulfill remaining daily transportation needs, Kalispell Public Schools contracts with local transportation partners:
- Harlow’s Bus Service: 17 Routes
- Treasure State Transit: 13 Routes
- Stevens Bussing: 2 Routes
- Z Bussing: 1 Route
Activity & Field Trip Transportation
- The department provides transportation for a wide range of Extended Classroom Experiences and athletic/activity trips throughout the school year.
- We maintain 8 dedicated activity buses specifically to support these extracurricular trips.
- District buses log thousands of miles annually, bringing students to competitions, athletic events, and field trips.
Bus Eligibility & Registration
- 3-Mile Eligibility Rule: Students residing less than three (3) miles from their assigned school are considered ineligible for standard transportation under district guidelines.
- Courtesy Ridership: If an established bus stop exists closer to your residence than your school of attendance, courtesy registration may be granted on a space-available basis
- Planning a Move? If school bus transportation will be needed for your student, we strongly recommend reviewing our School District Boundary Maps before relocating to confirm the assigned school of attendance for your new address. Remember, busing is not available for students who reside outside their school district’s boundary.
School District Boundary Map Links:
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