Post by wvhsparent on Aug 26, 2009 8:26:36 GMT -5
Seems 204 is not the only SD with bussing issues
Bumps on bus route
Parents say computers lack common sense: Glenbard High School District 87's mapping software kicked students off school transit for living a fraction of a mile too close to school
By Noreen S. Ahmed-Ullah
Tribune reporter
August 26, 2009
After Glenbard High School District 87 used new mapping software to revise its bus routes, Barbara Brooks' daughters were told they could no longer ride the school bus each day because they lived a tenth of a mile too close.
Buses had picked up teens from the neighborhood for years, but Brooks said school officials told her that they determined the family's home is 1.41 miles from Glenbard North High School. With few exceptions, state law requires school districts to provide bus service only to children living 1.5 miles or more from school.
District officials said the move is saving money. Cutting the estimated 75 to 125 families from the service area allows elimination of three bus routes and a saving of up to $115,000 a year, they said.
"It's a very long walk, at least 25 to 30 minutes," Brooks said. "[In the winter] it starts getting dark at 4 p.m. The girls participate in after-school activities, so you're telling me they'll be walking home in the dark? Our main concern is our children's safety."
As school districts look to tighten their belts, bus routes are coming under greater scrutiny. Chris McClain, assistant superintendent for business services, said the district is simply doing what many other districts have done.
"There were many families who were receiving a service, and they weren't entitled to it," McClain said.
Scott Parker, a general manager for Chicago-based First Planning Solutions, which determines routing for First Students, the nation's largest school transportation provider, said school districts are increasingly looking for better software to determine optimum busing routes and reduce costs.
"It's no secret school districts are under unprecedented economic pressure," Parker said. "We're seeing an increase in school districts coming to us and asking what can we do to cut our transportation costs. Every dollar they save for transportation, they can put in education or to pay for teachers. "
Across the street from the Brooks family, John and Sheila Kloet found out about the busing changes last week when her son, John O'Leary, 15, was notified at registration that he was no longer eligible for bus service.
"They could have told us in June," John Kloet said.
"I've been here for 10 years and we've had busing service all along," Sheila Kloet said. "I still live in the same home, so what's changed?"
The answer is new bus transportation software that determines which homes are not eligible for service, officials said. The system also identifies more efficient bus routes so students won't be on the bus for a half-hour or more, McClain said.
It's well worth the software's $40,000 cost in a district that spends $5 million a year on busing, he said. The district has 9,000 students at four high schools.
Parents can double-check the distance from their homes to school on the district's Web site. School officials say the software measures the shortest range from the exit of the student's property to the point where buses drop them off at school.
But the Kloets have done some mapping of their own. They say MapQuest measured the distance at 1.8 miles, and their car's odometer said it was 1.6 miles.
That doesn't matter to district officials, who said uniform standards are applied to all homes to determine distances.
Exceptions are made for students who live closer than 1.5 miles but who face a "severe safety hazard" by walking.
Some special education students also may be exempted from the distance requirement, but that's up to each district based on the Individualized Education Program and comments from a social worker. Sheila Kloet doesn't think her son, a special education student with learning disabilities, will qualify for an exemption. She has tried calling other elected officials for help but isn't hopeful.
Brooks is worried how her daughters will get home from after-school activities. Brittany, 17, president of her senior class, often will be staying late at school for track practice and student council meetings. Her younger daughter, Brianna, 14, a freshman, hopes to join the gymnastics team, which practices after school.
Brooks said much of the girls' walking route to school is without sidewalks. Plus, she said 11 registered sex offenders live in areas along the route.
On Wednesday, the first day of school at Glenbard North, parents plan to protest by marching to the high school. But school officials are asking parents who believe students will be walking along "hazardous" routes to contact them so the school can check with the Illinois Department of Transportation on road safety. The district also is considering a proposal that would allow parents living outside the eligible zone to band together for bus service for a price -- $300 per student.
"It's a fee that other ... school districts are charging," McClain said.
He said it's unfortunate that some families were so close to qualifying but didn't. "You have to cut it off somewhere," he said.
nahmed@tribune.com
Copyright © 2009, Chicago Tribune
