Resident raises safety concerns over walking routes and bus eligibility

Tisha Bogovich, a Kent resident, told the Kent City Schools Board of Education that her child’s route to school crosses four major intersections and takes roughly 47 minutes on foot, and that she was told the student cannot ride the bus.

Board President Tierra Moore and district staff answered that the district’s board policy sets walk zones at 2 miles for high school, 1.25 miles for middle school and 1 mile for elementary. Transportation staff said the district’s mapping uses GPS and “it’s plotted exactly where every house is and we do the shortest distance from the house to the pick up drop off point of the school.”

Bogovich said her concern was not only the mileage but the safety of multiple major street crossings during early-morning travel. She asked whether waivers or exceptions were available when a short route nonetheless presents safety hazards.

District staff described an existing operational option: after the second week of school, parents of students who are inside the walk zone may contact transportation to request that the student be assigned to an authorized bus stop outside the walk zone when there is room on the bus. Staff said that if there is space at the requested stop, the district will accommodate the request.

The board and staff framed the discussion as a request for staff follow-up and community input rather than as a formal change to the walk-zone policy. President Moore noted ongoing work in the city on a walkability study and offered to connect Bogovich with district staff and city resources to review safe routes to school.

The board did not take any formal action on the matter during the meeting.