Published: Thursday, September 9, 2010
School budget cuts keep Snohomish County kids off buses
Budget woes have forced districts to change school bus routes, creating confusion and frustration for many parents.
Thousands of students across Snohomish County are dealing with tweaked bus routes and dropped stops this year, and the changes may not end anytime soon.
Cuts to school bus service frustrated parents Wednesday, as school started in Everett and other districts.
"There seems to be a lot of confusion," said Angie Fields, a mother of a fifth grader at Mill Creek Elementary School. "Every time you call the transportation department, you get different answers."
State funding is down and expenses are up, school officials said. They are deciding between spending money in the classroom or on the road.
"There are certainly some unhappy people, we know," Monroe School District spokeswoman Rosemary O'Neil said. "No one's as unhappy as we are."
While the state Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction plans to overhaul its approach to transportation funding next year, that does nothing to reduce uncertainty now.
This year, four districts made significant reductions in bus service.
In the Everett School District, as many as 1,400 students are losing their bus stops in an effort to save about $400,000.
Monroe altered its bus service for about 1,000 students, hoping to save roughly $30,000.
Granite Falls reworked stops for dozens of students as part of a larger plan to save $42,000.
Officials in Snohomish consolidated or moved bus stops for 1,100 students, trying to save $275,000.
The state only covers bus service outside a one-mile radius of schools. To take advantage of state dollars, districts shuffled or cut stops.
The new approach irked many parents.
For instance, in a Mill Creek neighborhood, a dozen elementary school students waited Wednesday for their Everett School District bus. The stop for Mill Creek Elementary School moved by about one block this year, so it would sit outside a one-mile radius of the school.
Parents said that meant the bus had to travel a bit farther to pick up kids.
"It's pretty ridiculous as to why they have to make this loop with the bus," said Angie Fields, who was waiting with her fifth grader, Haley Fields. "Why there needs to be any change, I don't know."
Mike Gunn, Everett School District's facilities director, said the reason boils down to budget. The district lost about $3.7 million from the state this year.
"We probably have some routes that are longer than they used to be, and some that are shorter," Gunn said.
The state superintendent's office will change in September 2011 how it funds buses.
Its current model was crafted in 1982, in part using maps and tracing paper. The new model will incorporate more statistical analysis and mapping software.
It also will scrap the often-criticized one-mile radius rule.
For now, that circle means students living on a winding road may need to walk more than a mile to get to class. The new approach will simply measure if students walk one mile.
The state also plans to start rating the efficiency of districts' bus systems, said Allan Jones, state director of student transportation.
Districts won't face penalties for inefficient systems, but they may make changes anyway, Jones said. After all, the state plans to release its findings, highlighting how districts spend money.
The Snohomish School District's decision this year to consolidate routes and move stops was triggered by the state's looming call for efficiency.
Snohomish also is among the districts that let parents contest the loss of a stop. That process has won some fans, including Barb Wilson.
Her third grader, Trevor Wilson, was going to have to walk roughly two miles to catch a bus at the corner of Dubuque Road and 38th Street SE. The district reconsidered after she objected.
"I don't think they thought it through very clearly," she said. "I was very happy it was put back."
In Everett, about 90 students attending Jackson Elementary School won back their bus after their parents raised concerns about crime and traffic along Rucker Avenue, where they would have had to walk.
That was the only school in Everett to get back buses through the appeals process, Gunn said.
"I'll tell you that we have gotten many, many phone calls and e-mails and letters," he said.
Not all calls faulted the cuts. Some parents simply were perplexed.
For instance, the students at Mill Creek Elementary School were told they need to walk to their new stop. They also were told they only would be allowed onboard when there's enough room -- students living outside the one-mile radius take precedent.
All the students made it on the bus Wednesday morning, but that may not be the case if the bus fills up in the coming weeks.
"It's a huge relief that they got on now, and I don't have to worry about it today," said Stephen Brediger, who has two daughters at the school. "But it's today. I think my major concern will be next week."
Andy Rathbun: 425-339-3455; arathbun@heraldnet.com.
Cuts to school bus service frustrated parents Wednesday, as school started in Everett and other districts.
"There seems to be a lot of confusion," said Angie Fields, a mother of a fifth grader at Mill Creek Elementary School. "Every time you call the transportation department, you get different answers."
State funding is down and expenses are up, school officials said. They are deciding between spending money in the classroom or on the road.
"There are certainly some unhappy people, we know," Monroe School District spokeswoman Rosemary O'Neil said. "No one's as unhappy as we are."
While the state Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction plans to overhaul its approach to transportation funding next year, that does nothing to reduce uncertainty now.
This year, four districts made significant reductions in bus service.
In the Everett School District, as many as 1,400 students are losing their bus stops in an effort to save about $400,000.
Monroe altered its bus service for about 1,000 students, hoping to save roughly $30,000.
Granite Falls reworked stops for dozens of students as part of a larger plan to save $42,000.
Officials in Snohomish consolidated or moved bus stops for 1,100 students, trying to save $275,000.
The state only covers bus service outside a one-mile radius of schools. To take advantage of state dollars, districts shuffled or cut stops.
The new approach irked many parents.
For instance, in a Mill Creek neighborhood, a dozen elementary school students waited Wednesday for their Everett School District bus. The stop for Mill Creek Elementary School moved by about one block this year, so it would sit outside a one-mile radius of the school.
Parents said that meant the bus had to travel a bit farther to pick up kids.
"It's pretty ridiculous as to why they have to make this loop with the bus," said Angie Fields, who was waiting with her fifth grader, Haley Fields. "Why there needs to be any change, I don't know."
Mike Gunn, Everett School District's facilities director, said the reason boils down to budget. The district lost about $3.7 million from the state this year.
"We probably have some routes that are longer than they used to be, and some that are shorter," Gunn said.
The state superintendent's office will change in September 2011 how it funds buses.
Its current model was crafted in 1982, in part using maps and tracing paper. The new model will incorporate more statistical analysis and mapping software.
It also will scrap the often-criticized one-mile radius rule.
For now, that circle means students living on a winding road may need to walk more than a mile to get to class. The new approach will simply measure if students walk one mile.
The state also plans to start rating the efficiency of districts' bus systems, said Allan Jones, state director of student transportation.
Districts won't face penalties for inefficient systems, but they may make changes anyway, Jones said. After all, the state plans to release its findings, highlighting how districts spend money.
The Snohomish School District's decision this year to consolidate routes and move stops was triggered by the state's looming call for efficiency.
Snohomish also is among the districts that let parents contest the loss of a stop. That process has won some fans, including Barb Wilson.
Her third grader, Trevor Wilson, was going to have to walk roughly two miles to catch a bus at the corner of Dubuque Road and 38th Street SE. The district reconsidered after she objected.
"I don't think they thought it through very clearly," she said. "I was very happy it was put back."
In Everett, about 90 students attending Jackson Elementary School won back their bus after their parents raised concerns about crime and traffic along Rucker Avenue, where they would have had to walk.
That was the only school in Everett to get back buses through the appeals process, Gunn said.
"I'll tell you that we have gotten many, many phone calls and e-mails and letters," he said.
Not all calls faulted the cuts. Some parents simply were perplexed.
For instance, the students at Mill Creek Elementary School were told they need to walk to their new stop. They also were told they only would be allowed onboard when there's enough room -- students living outside the one-mile radius take precedent.
All the students made it on the bus Wednesday morning, but that may not be the case if the bus fills up in the coming weeks.
"It's a huge relief that they got on now, and I don't have to worry about it today," said Stephen Brediger, who has two daughters at the school. "But it's today. I think my major concern will be next week."
Andy Rathbun: 425-339-3455; arathbun@heraldnet.com.
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