As many as 500 Roanoke students may transfer to better performing schools than the ones they are zoned to attend -- potentially complicating bus routes less than two weeks before the start of school and adding a $725,000 expense.

The 2009-10 school year got off to a tumultuous start as officials added and changed bus routes at the last minute, redrew decades-old attendance boundaries and privatized the transportation system. The result was late buses, tardy pupils and outraged parents.

Mountain Valley Transportation General Manager Andre Harris said Wednesday that routes are being analyzed with the length of ride, distance to school and timeliness in mind -- and he expects a smooth start to the new school year.

Offering public school choice is a federal mandate for schools serving the economically disadvantaged that fail to make Adequate Yearly Progress for two consecutive years in a subject area. School divisions are required to provide transportation to students exercising choice.

The Virginia Department of Education released AYP results two weeks ago and city school officials are scrambling to accommodate the students seeking transfers from five schools by the start of school on Sept. 7.

School choice likely will affect class sizes and teacher assignments, meaning some teachers may be transferred from one school to another. The extent may not be determined until after the start of school.

"As soon as I know, they will know," Superintendent Rita Bishop said of the teachers potentially affected.

At a school board meeting Wednesday, Bishop reported 200 new transfers from Lucy Addison Middle School and Hurt Park, Lincoln Terrace, Round Hill and Westside elementary schools and 46 pending transfers. On top of that, there are 254 students with transfers from previous years.

The number of Roanoke parents opting for school choice for their children has steadily grown, from just eight students the first year the choice provisions federal law took effect, in September 2004, to nearly 400 last year and now 500. The school division has more than 13,000 students.

School officials did not release cost data from previous years for comparison on Wednesday.

"I am dealing with shifting sands," Bishop said of the impact on planning. "Obviously transportation is severely impacted."

She projected the additional bus routes needed for school choice will cost about $725,000. The money will come from federal Title I funds designated for economically disadvantaged students, but it could be put to much better use, such as hiring teachers, Bishop said.

The school division last fiscal year saved $250,000 by outsourcing transportation. Stan Crowgey, the division's director of transportation, said Wednesday that Mountain Valley purchased 42 new buses, put new seat covers on the old buses and will be outfitting drivers in uniforms.

"The whole attitude is upbeat," Crowgey said, which differs from last year, when some employees tried to undermine the system by not showing up to work, he said.

Another visible change is that the lettering on the sides of the buses will read "Roanoke City Public Schools" with "Operated by Mountain Valley Transportation" beneath.

The Virginia Department of Education requires the school district's name to appear on the bus and the state Department of Transportation requires the operator's name to be displayed.