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Board votes to revert recent bus-route transfers, asks transportation director to rework plan
Summary
After extended public and board discussion about student safety, costs and transfer points, Buchanan County School Board voted to return to prior bus routing and directed the transportation director to propose alternatives; a follow-up meeting was scheduled for Aug. 13.
Board members spent an extended portion of the meeting debating recent bus-route changes and transfers that routed some students out of their established schools and removed transfer points when a transfer site will be under construction.
Members and other speakers raised safety concerns and family hardship related to new stops and transfers. One board member told the meeting the change would leave students “right beside the road and they’re worried about the safety of the kids,” reflecting parental and board concerns about temporary transfer locations.
Board members discussed cost implications, with a figure cited in the discussion that routing changes had cost the county roughly $150,000 a year. After debate, a motion to revert to the previous routing system passed; transcript recordings indicate dissent and at least one abstention during the roll call, but the motion carried. The board directed the transportation director to rework the routing plan, to present alternatives and to make adjustments as needed before school begins.
To give the transportation director time to develop alternatives, members scheduled a special meeting for 6 p.m. on Aug. 13, ahead of the district’s school start date. Board members said the Aug. 13 session will allow review and final approval of routing changes prior to the start of school.
The board did not adopt a final replacement plan during this meeting; rather, it signaled a short-term reversion and asked administration to return with a workable alternative.
