A proposal to eliminate Poway Unified School District bus service for regular students will be discussed during the school board’s April 19 meeting.

Trustees will not vote on the proposal until the May 17 board meeting, according to Associate Superintendent Bill Chiment.

Services Employees International Union Local 221, which represents PUSD bus drivers, said that if trustees approve the cut, 39 bus drivers would lose jobs, leaving 3,300 students without bus transportation.

SEIU members are flooding the community with fliers to encourage public comment at the April 19 meeting, said SEIU spokeswoman Melinda Battenberg.

Poway Unified currently operates 71 special education bus routes, a service that is mandated by the state and will not be cut, said Chuck Lord, president of the local SEIU chapter.

Meanwhile, Battenberg said union representatives learned about the possible transportation cut during current contract negotiations with the district.

If the proposal passes, the district would save slightly more than $1 million, up to $1.5 million,” Lord said.

“It really bugs us that parents probably don’t know this is coming,” Lord said. “We think that when parents hear about it, they will come unglued.

Getting kids to school safely is the main concern of bus drivers, he added.