Parent warns board students are being loaded onto busy Kenwood Road; board pledges staff follow‑up

At the start of the superintendent’s agenda on Sept. 3, Sycamore Community City school board members agreed to hear a late public comment from Cheryl Pate, who raised safety concerns about how students in the district’s transition program are being loaded onto buses on Kenwood Road.

Pate told the board that the road is wide and busy and that two students who use wheelchairs must be loaded from the roadway onto lifts. "You have 2 wheelchair individuals that are interning that have to get loaded on a lift on that busy road, and that takes a lot of time to load a wheelchair," she said, adding that sensory‑sensitive students can be startled by passing traffic and horn honking and might run into the road.

The board chair acknowledged the comment and said the board does not comment during public comment but that it had heard her concern. Members later returned to the subject under other board business and said they would take the information to staff for follow‑up; one member said, "I'll take the information and talk with our team, and I don't think Mrs. Spencer was aware of this as well. So we just need a chance to talk and have some conversation." The transcript records no formal motion or timeline for action related to the safety issue.

The remarks prompted board members to note constraints that might affect solutions, such as whether buses can safely enter the school parking lot for loading. The board directed no immediate action on the record but indicated staff would be asked to investigate options and report back at a later time.