The district is considering four proposals to address the issue. But those stopgap measures have only gone so far. And students have waited at school after hours for their bus drivers to finish dropping off one group of students before heading back for a second group. Bus drivers take on extra students if a fellow driver does not show up. Office workers in the transportation department have pitched in and driven buses.

The district has tried to adapt to its shortage in several ways. Two schools, Jeremiah Gray Elementary on the Southport side and Rosa Parks Elementary on the Perry side, operate as choice schools for each side and welcome students from each of their respective attendance areas.īut the setup leaves the district with an inefficient transportation system that leaves some buses underutilized, Sampson said. The changes could significantly alter the landscape of Perry Township, which is split into two main attendance areas: the east side of Southport and the west side of Perry.Įlementary students are zoned for a neighborhood school, but can choose to attend any of the schools within the east or west side in which they reside with guaranteed transportation. But parents, including those who spoke at a public comment session at a Monday school board meeting, say that gutting the choice program would be unfair to families who choose schools that are the best fit for their child or their schedules. The plans would also affect the options and transportation offerings for more than 300 students who participate in the district’s elementary school choice program.ĭistrict officials say the goal is to alleviate an inefficient system that creates long wait times for students and increased work loads for bus drivers. The number of routes that the different plans would cut ranges from 15 to 36.īut three of the four plans would require about 31% of its elementary school students to change schools because of a change in attendance boundaries. The four proposed redistricting plans, which the school board will consider next week, would end guaranteed transportation for students who attend schools beyond their attendance boundaries by eliminating bus routes and reducing the number of required drivers. Parents in Perry Township are pushing back against proposals to eliminate or restrict school choice for elementary school students as a solution for the district’s acute shortage of bus drivers.

Perry township transportation