Here are seven things every parent should know about busing in the Evanston/Skokie School District 65.
The list is a result of a discussion earlier this week at the regular monthly meeting of the district’s Finance Committee.
1. The district is reviewing walking hazards in conjunction with a Safe Walk to School grant with the objective of expanding walk areas that would reduce busing in some areas no longer considered to be hazardous.
2. The district is considering a hub-and-spoke model whereby magnet school routes will use neighborhood schools as bus stops instead of separate locations between schools.
3. The district is working with Positive Connections, its contracted bus company, to recruit more drivers to constitute a “substitute bench” of potential drivers that would have the effect of reducing the incidence of late-running buses.
4. The district hopes to establish indoor locations for kids to wait for the bus so that they don’t have to stand out in the cold during adverse weather conditions, even though that may add to costs.
5. The district is considering a requirement for eligible bus riders to sign up for the service, so that the number of bus routes is based on ridership, rather than eligibility.
6. Because each bus costs the district about $40,000 a year to operate, the district is hoping that new models of route management will cut the number of bus routes down by 10 or more from the current 185.
7. Because driving a bus is a parttime job, the number of applicants for driver positions decreases rapidly as the unemployment rate declines.
Superintendent Paul Goren, who was hired by the district last August, said he is not happy with the status of the present busing situation and that his staff is working to make it more efficient and effective.
According to the district’s website, elementary students who reside 1.5 miles or more from their attendance area school or reside where walking to school or to a bus stop would constitute a serious safety hazard are eligible for free transportation.
Middle school students are encouraged to obtain CTA passes, although Skokie students are provided transportation to Chute Middle School.
Free transportation and vehicle adaptation, where necessary, are available for students with special needs when it is written in the student’s Individualized Education Program (IEP). Free student transportation is available for English Language Learner (ELL) students enrolled in a bilingual education program located in a school other than the child’s regular attendance-area school.