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United ISD proposes hazardous-route updates, adds campuses and recommends small boundary shifts
Summary
Transportation staff recommended amendments to hazardous-route designations that add eight campuses, remove a few routes after infrastructure changes, and propose boundary adjustments that would affect 15 students and one student's district-provided transportation among United South, Gonzales and Killam attendance areas.
United Independent School District transportation officials briefed trustees at a June workshop on proposed amendments to the district's hazardous-route designations and on several small boundary changes for the 2025-26 school year.
Why it matters: hazardous-route designations affect whether the district provides transportation for areas inside the two-mile policy boundary and can trigger state reimbursement for miles traveled. Boundary changes affect which school a student is assigned to and whether the district must provide bus service.
Transportation staff said they're removing three previously-designated hazardous routes because infrastructure improvements (at Borchers Memorial and Alexander main campus) reduced hazards, and are proposing eight new hazardous-route designations for campuses including Alyssa Ruiz, Salinas, Roberto Santos, Herrera, Molina and others. Staff said two proposed additions (Alyssa Ruiz and Roberto Ramirez) could be removed from the designation if the city installs crosswalks and signage.
Staff described a boundary change affecting the triangular area bounded by Highway 359 and Route 20 that would reassign 11 middle-school students and four elementary students; staff said only one of those students currently qualifies for district-provided transportation and that principals and parents have been notified. "If these parents choose to stay at Rees Elementary, we will do the formal transfers. We automatically approve it," a transportation presenter said.
Transportation staff noted district policy provides bus service outside two miles and that the state reimburses only a portion of transportation costs; staff said total transportation spending is about $20 million per year while state reimbursement covers about $8'' $9 million, creating a structural deficit. Staff also explained that the district can only report reimbursement-eligible miles up to a state cap (about 10% of total miles).
Ending: trustees were given maps and student counts and staff said they would present formal boundary and hazardous-route changes for approval as agenda items, while continuing coordination with parents and municipal partners on safety improvements.
