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School officials, commissioners discuss crowded car lines, courtesy busing and safety near campus

5947805 · October 15, 2025
AI-Generated Content: All content on this page was generated by AI to highlight key points from the meeting. For complete details and context, we recommend watching the full video. so we can fix them.

Summary

School and county officials discussed recurring traffic "stacking" at school pick-up and drop-off points, options to reduce curbside backups, and the county's longstanding 2‑mile courtesy-busing policy that parents and commissioners said drives congestion.

Parents, school staff and county commissioners discussed persistent vehicle stacking at several Hernando County school campuses and reviewed several engineering and operational steps officials say they are pursuing to reduce congestion and safety risks.

School staff described site-specific fixes already underway and planned. Brian Reagan, identified as a presenter for the district, said Spring Hill Elementary is “getting ready to go out for bid” for a stacking loop once plans are approved by the water management reviewer (referred to in the meeting as SWFWMD). School staff also said JD Floyd, Challenger and other campuses have had or are implementing internal stacking adjustments to move queuing off public streets and onto campus property.

The discussion focused on near-term fixes — adding turn lanes, relocating stacking loops onto school property and traffic‑management changes — and on longer-term policy changes such as changes to the county’s courtesy busing boundaries. A county official in the meeting recounted that courtesy busing inside a 2‑mile radius was eliminated in 2014 as a cost-saving measure that saved about $1,000,000; commissioners and school staff said the board has placed returning expanded courtesy busing (a 1.5‑mile or 1‑mile zone for younger children) on its legislative platform.

Commissioners and school leaders also discussed behavioral and administrative measures. School staff said parents arriving an hour early compound stacking; several commissioners suggested parent education, pilot reservation or queuing systems, and enforcement by law enforcement where cars stop on public roads.

Several speakers stressed the safety tradeoffs. Commissioner comments and school staff testimony emphasized that while officials prefer students be picked up on campus, once a child walks off campus supervision and enforcement fall to parents and local law enforcement. That boundary of school authority was repeatedly noted.

Context and next steps: County and school staff said they are coordinating with the MPO and county engineers on sidewalk and road improvements near problem campuses (see separate article on sidewalks). School and county staff said some design work is complete and that certain projects (for example, Spring Hill Elementary stacking loop) will proceed to bidding after outstanding plan approvals. No formal motions or votes were recorded on this item during the meeting.

Ending: Officials urged parents to follow posted queuing rules and promised follow‑up: school staff and county engineers said they would continue to explore lane additions, reservation/queuing technologies and enforcement options and bring specific proposals back to their respective boards.