Boston - State Senator Benjamin B. Downing (D-Pittsfield) and State Representative Denis E. Guyer (D-Dalton) are pleased to announce that several school districts within his Senate district have been approved to receive a total of $47,374 in Transportation Routing Software grants through the Massachusetts Department of Education (DOE).

Rural districts present unique transportation challenges,” said Downing. “These grants will go a long way to help our regional school districts tackle issues of efficiency when deciding how best to transport children to and from school.”

This grant program supports the cost of district-operated transportation routing software and assists districts in organizing their transportation routes to serve approximately 140,000 students in the Commonwealth. The DOE reports that 34 out of 64 proposals were approved for a total of $400,000. Grant awards range from $9,781 to $18,694.

“This grant will allow the Mohawk Trail Regional School District to purchase the software it needs to efficiently map bus routes,” said Guyer. “This will help Mohawk make the most out of their transportation budget.”

List of Local Regional School District Grants:

Mohawk Regional School District, Shelburne Falls: $10,199
Serving the towns of Ashfield, Buckland, Charlemont, Colrain, Hawley, Heath, Plainfield, and Shelburne.

Hampshire Regional School District, Westhampton: $11,725
Serving the towns of Goshen, Chesterfield, Westhampton, Williamsburg, and Southampton.

Farmington River Regional School District, Otis: $11,725
Serving the towns of Otis and Sandisfield.

Gateway Regional School District, Huntington: $13,725
Serving the towns of Blandford, Chester, Huntington, Middlefield, Montgomery, Russell, and Worthington.