Waunakee board approves ending elementary shuttles for summer school to simplify routes and boost safety

The Waunakee Community School District board voted to change summer‑school transportation procedures, moving away from shuttle transfers between elementary schools toward a route‑based model that provides a single, consistent pickup and drop‑off point for each student.

Policy committee members and administrators emphasized safety for early learners and operational clarity. Speaker 15, who oversees summer school logistics, told the board that shuttles require multiple adults to guide very young students at busy pickups and that the system can be “anxiety provoking” for staff. "We never want a kiddo on the wrong bus, and now the parent doesn't know where they are," Speaker 15 said when describing shuttle risks.

Under the approved concept, families will still have choices of destination (for example, community providers such as Inspire), but students will be transported directly from their home school on routed buses rather than being transferred between buildings. The policy change also includes a rule that families may designate one consistent morning and one consistent afternoon location each week; two‑guardian households are treated as one location for routing purposes.

Speaker 3 moved to adopt the summer‑school changes and to update policy language to allow a single consistent pickup and drop‑off; the motion passed by voice vote. Trustees characterized the change as a phased approach: summer school will serve as an initial trial before any wider transportation policy changes are implemented for the regular school year.

What’s next: Administration will update summer‑school materials and communications so families have clear routing and registration choices ahead of March registration and April sign‑up timelines.