Parents and a district bus driver told the Socorro ISD board Aug. 20 that recent route reductions have left many elementary students without district-provided transportation and forced them to walk across multi-lane roadways they called unsafe. Speakers asked the board to reevaluate routes west of John Hayes and Charles Foster and to consider partnering with the city on crosswalks or traffic control.

The issue drew testimony from Chessie Wilf, who said she learned shortly before school started that her daughter at Sergeant Jose Carrasco Elementary no longer qualified for transportation under the district’s two-mile guideline; Wilf said her home is 1.8 miles from the school but requires crossing 21 streets and a four-lane road with no crosswalks or crossing guards. Former bus driver Tommy Hill said the district removed multiple stops and replaced them with two stops at Crossco, forcing hundreds of students to walk and increasing traffic at other schools.

Board members and administration acknowledged safety concerns. Superintendent Guillermo Vasquez said he had preliminary conversations with Representative Nino about the area and committed to have transportation staff reexamine routes west of John Hayes. Vasquez said the district would follow up with the transportation department to reassess stops and consider adding stops for families near the two-mile marker.

No formal policy change or vote to restore routes was taken at the meeting. District representatives said they would evaluate route safety and stop placement and coordinate with the city to explore traffic-control measures that might improve crossings.

Parents and drivers asked the board to ensure decisions take into account actual walking paths, crossings, and infrastructure rather than straight-line distances; speakers urged the district to consider crosswalks, crossing guards, and other mitigation before requiring children to walk along routes that include multi-lane roads.