Post by title1parent on Aug 25, 2009 5:17:46 GMT -5
www.suburbanchicagonews.com/napervillesun/news/1732479,D204-opening-day-jitters_na082509.article
First-day jitters in D204
Overcrowding seen in school and on buses
August 25, 2009
By HANK BECKMAN For The Sun
The first week of school seldom goes smoothly, and this year was no exception for Indian Prairie School District 204. This year, parents are unhappy after various school bus routes ran into overcrowding and scheduling problems last week.
And while the students took it in stride, the parents had a different take on the matter.
"They thought it was funny," Carol Schafer, resident of White Eagle subdivision said of her sons' and their friends' reactions to the overcrowding on his school bus and at Waubonsie Valley High School.
Several parents contacted The Sun with stories of their children on overcrowded buses, sometimes sitting three-deep on a seat, standing in the aisles and claiming that buses sometimes passed up some kids that were supposed to be picked up.
To make matters worse, Waubonsie Valley itself is somewhat overcrowded this year.
Schafer said that some freshman had to share lockers, and one of her sons missed a lunch period.
District Superintendent Kathy Birkett acknowledged some problems getting started this year, but said the district was moving quickly to fix the problems.
"I'm extremely apologetic from day one," she said in a telephone interview.
Birkett attributed some of the problems to changes in attendance boundaries and late registration but made no excuses, saying, "I'm not patient ... it's not acceptable to us."
Birkett said that part of the problem already was being addressed with the use of shuttle buses to relieve the overcrowding on Waubonsie Valley buses, a practice that began on Friday but was emphasized even more Monday.
"We knew we would be slightly overcrowded this year," she said of the enrollment at Waubonsie Valley. "We're not much over 3,000 (Waubonsie's enrollment ideal)," she said.
Birkett added that the district heard from only a few parents, and said of the issues of overcrowding — both on the buses and the high school — "a lot of these issues will be corrected."
One parent is satisfied that the district is responding to parent's concerns.
Lorraine Herr lives in the Aero Estates subdivision, and her fifth-grader has been attending Welch Elementary School since kindergarten.
While school buses used to pick up children in front of their houses on Stearman, Skylane and Chandelle drives, this year, the route called for the children on all three streets to make their way to a stop on 83rd Street and Skylane Drive.
With no sidewalks on any of the streets, no shoulder area and streets sometimes flanked by drainage ditches, Herr and other parents were concerned for their children's safety. There are no lights for when it gets dark earlier, and they would have to cross private property, running the risk of being hit by a motorist backing out of their driveway.
Moreover, the stop on 83rd Street was not clearly marked, so children didn't know exactly where to wait, a risky proposition on a road that had speed limits of 40 to 45 mph.
But Herr got word that the district, which controls handles the scheduling for the routes, announced Monday that it would revert to the old practice of picking the kids up at their houses, for which Herr said she was grateful. Birkett confirmed the changes.
As for Schafer, she said she thought the problem of overcrowding at Waubonsie Valley was worse than the district was admitting to. Yet, she was willing to wait and see.
"We'll give them a chance," she said.
_____________________
There is an online poll about problems with the bussing situation.
First-day jitters in D204
Overcrowding seen in school and on buses
August 25, 2009
By HANK BECKMAN For The Sun
The first week of school seldom goes smoothly, and this year was no exception for Indian Prairie School District 204. This year, parents are unhappy after various school bus routes ran into overcrowding and scheduling problems last week.
And while the students took it in stride, the parents had a different take on the matter.
"They thought it was funny," Carol Schafer, resident of White Eagle subdivision said of her sons' and their friends' reactions to the overcrowding on his school bus and at Waubonsie Valley High School.
Several parents contacted The Sun with stories of their children on overcrowded buses, sometimes sitting three-deep on a seat, standing in the aisles and claiming that buses sometimes passed up some kids that were supposed to be picked up.
To make matters worse, Waubonsie Valley itself is somewhat overcrowded this year.
Schafer said that some freshman had to share lockers, and one of her sons missed a lunch period.
District Superintendent Kathy Birkett acknowledged some problems getting started this year, but said the district was moving quickly to fix the problems.
"I'm extremely apologetic from day one," she said in a telephone interview.
Birkett attributed some of the problems to changes in attendance boundaries and late registration but made no excuses, saying, "I'm not patient ... it's not acceptable to us."
Birkett said that part of the problem already was being addressed with the use of shuttle buses to relieve the overcrowding on Waubonsie Valley buses, a practice that began on Friday but was emphasized even more Monday.
"We knew we would be slightly overcrowded this year," she said of the enrollment at Waubonsie Valley. "We're not much over 3,000 (Waubonsie's enrollment ideal)," she said.
Birkett added that the district heard from only a few parents, and said of the issues of overcrowding — both on the buses and the high school — "a lot of these issues will be corrected."
One parent is satisfied that the district is responding to parent's concerns.
Lorraine Herr lives in the Aero Estates subdivision, and her fifth-grader has been attending Welch Elementary School since kindergarten.
While school buses used to pick up children in front of their houses on Stearman, Skylane and Chandelle drives, this year, the route called for the children on all three streets to make their way to a stop on 83rd Street and Skylane Drive.
With no sidewalks on any of the streets, no shoulder area and streets sometimes flanked by drainage ditches, Herr and other parents were concerned for their children's safety. There are no lights for when it gets dark earlier, and they would have to cross private property, running the risk of being hit by a motorist backing out of their driveway.
Moreover, the stop on 83rd Street was not clearly marked, so children didn't know exactly where to wait, a risky proposition on a road that had speed limits of 40 to 45 mph.
But Herr got word that the district, which controls handles the scheduling for the routes, announced Monday that it would revert to the old practice of picking the kids up at their houses, for which Herr said she was grateful. Birkett confirmed the changes.
As for Schafer, she said she thought the problem of overcrowding at Waubonsie Valley was worse than the district was admitting to. Yet, she was willing to wait and see.
"We'll give them a chance," she said.
_____________________
There is an online poll about problems with the bussing situation.