Siloam Springs board reviews parent-zone changes, pledges more community input

District officials presented a revised plan for parent-zone boundaries and related safety steps at the Siloam Springs Board of EducationJune meeting, saying changes aim to reduce unsafe walking routes for elementary students while balancing transportation resources.

Dr. McClung, the district administrator presenting the plan, described targeted revisions to several areas that surfaced in parent surveys and safety reviews: Ashley Park, Lawless Road, the Holly Street corridor and parts of the Allen attendance zone. She said the changes would, for example, "take the Ashley Park area out of the parent zone" so those families would receive school-provided transportation and that the South Side elementary boundary would be redrawn down Holly Street to 412 to include more young students in bus service.

The presentation emphasized safety and logistics. Officials noted gaps in sidewalks and connector roads that make a short-radius walk unsafe (the Ashley Park neighborhood lies about 0.75 mile as the crow flies from Allen Elementary but requires a 2'2.5-mile drive), and they described shuttle services for high-school students bringing them from middle-school hubs to the high school.

Board members pressed for specifics on timing and community outreach. In public comment before the reports, Fisher warned that transportation changes could worsen chronic absenteeism in some neighborhoods and asked the district to publish how many students would be affected and how many fewer rides would be provided compared with the previous plan. The boardresponded by committing to gather and return with community feedback, while McClung said the district will share route updates via the route-finder tool and ongoing summer communications.

Officials described near-term and longer-term steps: recruit additional crossing guards and work with city staff to address markings, lights and repainted crosswalks; run traffic studies (expected early July) and ride-arounds with city officials to identify priority crossings; and pursue grant opportunities with the city to fund infrastructure upgrades.

The district stressed it would not finalize any boundary changes until the community has had opportunity to comment. "We're gonna hear from the community before any decision's made," a board member said during discussion.

Next steps: the district plans summer communications, route-system updates, crossing-guard recruitment, and city-led traffic studies; the board signaled it will consider any formal boundary changes after community input is collected and analyzed.