1,000+ Plano students lose bus service after district redefines routes deemed hazardous to walk

CBS News

2 days ago

On a recent summer day, several eighth graders tested out their walk to school — a mile and a half across two major roads to Otto Middle School in Plano.
For years, Sophia Livengood, 13, Sophia Ortega, 13, and Ivy Rogers, 12, have taken the bus. This school year, it's no longer an option.
Students living more than two miles from campus automatically qualify for free busing, as do those who face "hazardous traffic conditions if they walked to school."
But Plano ISD has now changed what it considers "hazardous."
CBS News Texas reviewed maps of dozens of neighborhoods that no longer qualify for bus service, which the district has made available on a webpage dedicated to its new transportation plan.
The district identified 2,524 students living in affected neighborhoods. Of those, Plano ISD estimates that between 959 and 1,305 bus riders would be directly impacted by the change.
"Nothing has changed. It's probably even gotten worse," said Andrea Livengood, who worries about her daughter and her friends walking to and from school.
She says it's hard for working parents to know what to do.
"We can possibly drop off the kids in the morning, but in the afternoon, we don't have time to sit in the carpool line an hour and wait for our kids to get out," she said.
If middle school families are worried, imagine what it's like for those with even younger students.
Take Sigler Elementary, a Title I school serving mostly low-income families with children as young as four. About a quarter of its roughly 500 students live in the Bel Air Oaks apartment complex.
In past years, the district estimates between 59 and 94 of them have ridden the bus. They're now losing service after the district reclassified their path across six lanes of traffic on Plano Parkway and six lanes on Alma Drive as safe.
It was near the same intersection where police say a 9-year-old boy and a 13-year-old girl were hit by a driver who ran a red light in May.
School board members say the addition of crosswalks, sidewalks, and pedestrian signals has made some of the affected paths safer.
"These updates were not sudden, and they were not made lightly," wrote Superintendent Dr. Theresa Williams in a statement. "They reflect months of planning, years of data, and a commitment to doing what's right for students both in terms of safety and the responsible use of taxpayer resources."
In work session meetings where the changes were discussed, trustees did not appear eager to cut back services, but rather compelled by a need to cut spending.
"Student safety is always going to be paramount. I learned that very early in this role. However, we also have a fiscal responsibility," said trustee Jeri Chambers at a March meeting. "This is an example of us having to be really tight, and we're going to have to get tighter."
For years, Plano ISD — like many North Texas school districts — has operated on a deficit budget, spending more money than it's allowed to keep.
It's lost hundreds of millions of dollars in school taxes to the state through recapture, while the Legislature delayed passing any increase to per-student funding.
The funding gap in transportation has grown especially large, as gas, labor, and buses have become more expensive. Plano ISD reports it spent $20.6 million last year on transportation, an expense for which the state allotted it just $2.5 million.
"When I say allotment, that's us keeping our own taxes. And so that funding gap is currently about $18 million," said Deputy Superintendent Johnny Hill. "As a result, when we talk about transportation, we need to be as efficient as we can with offering transportation services."
By reducing routes, the district expects to need 13 fewer drivers and save $1.04 million per year.
Plano ISD isn't alone in targeting transportation for budget cuts.
"We've definitely seen school districts across the country make the decision to change bus routes, cut bus routes," said Sebastian Martinez Hickey, an analyst at the Economic Policy Institute who has studied the nationwide shortage of school bus drivers.
More than half of all students, he says, still rely on buses to get to school, especially low-income students.
Today, EPI found there are nearly a third fewer bus drivers than there were 15 years ago.
"I think perhaps they are undervalued because we don't think about what an essential service it is to get children safely and on time to school," said Martinez Hickey. "When there are changes to school bus routes or there are cancellations, that can contribute to increases in chronic absenteeism for students."
Livengood wishes Plano's school board would reconsider.
"There are other ways to save money without putting kids in danger," she said.
In the meantime, students are preparing to find their own way to class.