Bend‑LaPine board upholds district decision on contested bus stop despite parent safety concerns

The Bend‑LaPine Administrative SD 1 Board of Directors voted June 2 to uphold the district’s decision on the placement of a bus stop at the Deschutes Market Road and JD Estates Drive intersection after a special appeal hearing.

Michael Schultz, speaking for his family, told the board the intersection is unsafe: "We have not been provided with really any objective procedures" and the district’s rubric “was blank” in his case, he said, describing weekly near‑misses, inconsistent driver stopping and poor visibility on a curve where children must sometimes cross the roadway.

Transportation staff countered that they applied a district rubric and on‑site observations, and that multiple staff and a deputy superintendent reviewed and upheld the routing decision. Paul Dean, the district’s chief operating officer, said the department balances safety with efficiency and federal and state requirements and urged the board to respect the district’s established process.

The district’s routing specialist said the stop scored 25 points under the district rubric; staff explained the K‑5 threshold the district uses for an unacceptable stop is 32 points, so the site did not meet the district’s threshold for removal. The specialist said the evaluation considered shoulder width and condition, road width, posted speed and observed traffic during an 8:08–8:15 a.m. observation on a school day.

Board members pressed staff on several topics: whether the rubric accounts for where buses actually stop as opposed to where students wait; whether substitute drivers who unfamiliar with the route cause inconsistent stopping; the role of private property and turnaround options; and whether a state hazard‑zone petition (a separate process tied to state funding and non‑transport zones) would change the outcome. Staff said hazard‑zone determinations are separate from the rubric and that the rubric is a district tool not required by the Oregon Department of Education.

Schultz proposed an earlier location (Jeffers and JD Ranch Estates) that he said has a concrete landing pad and a cul‑de‑sac and would reduce exposure at the intersection. Staff said that location had been used in the past but changes in growth and route timing have led the district to place stops to keep route times reasonable across the district’s roughly 1,600 square‑mile service area.

Several directors urged the district to consider both technical scoring and lived experience in future rubric revisions. One director cited federal guidance on student vulnerability during loading and unloading and said the rubric should explicitly account for where buses stop and where students wait. Staff said they advise parents and students on safer waiting locations but cannot compel where parents place their children on public roads.

A motion to uphold the district decision was made and seconded. Multiple board members responded "Aye" when the chair called for a vote; the chair announced the motion carried. The meeting adjourned.

The board’s action leaves the district routing decision in place; directors asked staff to continue evaluating stop assessments, consult with safety committees and consider refinements to the rubric and operational practices so the procedure more clearly addresses student waiting areas and driver variability.