Windham parents warn safety risks after school bus stop changes

Multiple Windham residents told the RSU 14 School Board on Aug. 27 that bus route changes this school year moved stops away from long-established curbside locations, forcing children to walk farther and cross busy roads at a blind hill. The comments prompted the superintendent and board members to say they would pursue quicker communications, a review of the district's transportation policy and immediate safety measures.

The concerns came during public comment. Anthony Favro, a Windham resident, said the new stop for his sixth-grade daughter requires "about a half mile walk" from the end of their private road and forces students to cross at an intersection he described as unsafe. "That intersection, in my opinion, is not a safe pickup place for children because there's a blind hill coming down from River Road," Favro said.

The complaint was echoed by other parents. Steph Clark, who said she lives in the Pinewood Acres area, presented maps and photos comparing the old curbside stops with the bus's new large loop and said the new route is "not safe, but it is less economical and it is more time consuming for every child on the bus." Dale Alley said snow banks would place children "not only in the road, but completely in the road" at the new stop and reported observed high vehicle speeds on nearby through roads.

Superintendent Howell told the board the district reduced two middle-school and two elementary routes this summer to increase efficiency after persistent driver shortages. Howell said roughly 100 runs were canceled last year because of staffing shortages and that the district is "looking to make sure that we are providing a 100% transportation days over the course of this year," noting at least one new driver had been hired since school began.

Howell also cited existing district policy EEA when describing who makes routing decisions: "the policy is a little bit ambiguous, but it really relies upon [the] transportation director in trying to develop not only routes that are safe, but routes that are safe and efficient," Howell said. Board members said the policy committee could review EEA to consider more objective safety criteria and notification timelines.

Several board members pressed for practical short-term steps. Board Member Ginny said she visited the affected site and suggested warning signage: "Is there some way to put a sign saying there is a bus stop there?" Howell replied that "Erin did meet with public works today and request that sign at the top of that hill." Board discussion also noted that Windham has a high share of private roads (Howell said "Windham is almost 50% private roads") where cluster stops are commonly used.

Board members and the superintendent discussed clarifications and next steps rather than taking a formal vote. Joe, a board member, asked whether the board should "reopen this policy for discussion this year" to add more objective safety assessment criteria; he recommended adding it to the policy agenda. Several board members asked staff to start notifications earlier next year so families have more than "2, 3 business days" to arrange child care or drop-off plans.

Clarifying details discussed at the meeting included prior walking-distance guidance the board said existed in older policy documents (Howell said earlier guidelines set elementary walking limits at about 0.3 miles and high school at about 0.6 miles), reductions of multiple routes this summer to increase efficiency, and at least one new driver hire. No formal policy change or vote was recorded at the Aug. 27 meeting.

The board did not adopt new policy language at the meeting; board members asked the policy committee to consider EEA for revisions, and staff said they would pursue immediate safety measures such as signage and additional route adjustments as staffing allows.