Waunakee policy committee weighs removing middle-school buses, tightening alternate pickup rules

The Waunakee Community School District policy committee on Monday reviewed proposed changes to district transportation that could remove middle-school bus routes and tighten rules for alternative pickup and drop-off.

Ally, the staff presenter, told committee members the district is building on a 2024 hazardous-transportation study and a prior board decision that found middle-school walking conditions improved after village infrastructure upgrades. "If we continue on for 26–27 with what you guys approved with removing the middle school transportation, that would save three bus routes," Ally said, while noting the district has not yet fully modeled the financial impact for all scenarios.

Committee members discussed replacing summer shuttles between three elementary sites with three shorter and three longer routes to serve day-care sites and connect to fifth- through twelfth-grade routes. Ally said those three shorter routes would have minimal fiscal impact, while the three longer routes that serve both day care and older students would have a fiscal effect that staff can model for the full board.

The committee reviewed consultant Lamers' maps showing zones north and south of Main Street and detailed which areas are considered hazardous (red) and nonhazardous (green). Ally said the district's maps reflect completed safety improvements in areas north of Main Street, including flashing beacons and refreshed crosswalks, and that crossing-guard staffing has been prioritized to those locations.

Members raised equity and practical concerns about narrowing alternative-transportation language in the policy. A proposed text change that would replace the word "babysitters" with "licensed daycare" drew questions about effects on families who rely on grandparents or unpaid caregivers. Ally proposed leaving the title and current wording in place for 2026–27 and phasing a change (if adopted later) so families would have advance notice. "For 26–27, we would just leave the title as 'babysitters' so it continues as is right now," Ally said.

On an exception request, staff described a family who lives inside Waunakee boundaries but whose child attends DeForest School District. Staff recommended a single-case exception rather than changing the policy generally; committee members agreed, proposing a one-year exception requiring reapplication to reduce the risk of creating a broader precedent. Committee member (S5) moved to approve the single-case exception for one year; the motion was called and approved by voice.

Committee member (S5) also moved to forward the transportation recommendations and related policy edits to the full school board for consideration.

Clarifying details cited in the meeting included staff estimates that a single route's operating cost was described in discussion as "around $22,000" (making three routes roughly $66,000) and a figure given as the district's total transportation budget of about $122,000,000; those numbers were presented by staff during the discussion and were not always contextualized in supporting budget documents attached to the meeting packet.

Next steps: staff will prepare requested fiscal modeling for the full board, retain the current policy title for 2026–27 while keeping the bottom-section edits (consistent pickup/drop-off language), and incorporate map and crossing-guard updates into communications with families. The committee forwarded its recommendation to the full board for decision.