Ann Arbor school officials can look at Royal Oak when anticipating effects of potential high school busing cut
Ann Arbor schools will have at least one other southeast Michigan school district for comparison if the school board decides to cut high school transportation.
Royal Oak Neighborhood Schools cut transportation for all students in the 2010-11 school year and, not surprisingly, encountered a few difficulties, Royal Oak superintendent Thomas Moline said Monday.
However, he said the easiest transition was among high schoolers.
Moline said only about 20 to 30 percent of eligible high school students used school buses before the cut took place. Ann Arbor school officials say about one-third of eligible high school students use bus services.
“Our participation rates for high school were abysmally low (when Royal Oak provided transportation), even though we ran busing for high school students for years prior” Moline said. “Ann Arbor is probably seeing the opportunity for a low utilization situation that won’t make parents happy who really do want to use it for their high school senior, but that’s not very many by our experience.”
Ann Arbor schools are considering cutting high school transportation and after-school shuttles as a part of the 2011-12 budget.
There’s a chance the proposal will not be in the final budget after district administrators proposed a number of other measures at a meeting Friday.
Past transportation stories
Here are some of AnnArbor.com's stories about the potential cut to high school transportation in AAPS
Moline said cutting transportation for all students caused a definite inconvenience for parents, mostly at the elementary and middle schools. Congestion in school parking lots increased and some families had a difficult time getting their students to school because they were left no other option, he said.
However, there were some benefits. More students are walking or biking to school than at any time in the past 10 years or so, Moline said. In addition, the school community has come together to support families who struggle getting their children to school.
“We left some families in the lurch and I’m sad to report that. Some had no ability to get their kids across town, especially to the middle school,” he said. “However … we brought that to the attention of PTAs and they had people coming to pick those children up in a van or a large vehicle.”
Despite district benefits, Moline said he regularly receives emails and communications from parents who miss school transportation.
He said the cut isn’t permanent and buses could be brought back at some point in the future if there was an increase in revenue of funding that allowed for it.
However, if the option in Royal Oak is increasing class sizes or cutting academic programs, Moline said the school community would rather see transportation be lost than programs.
“There have been some situations that have turned out to be OK for the large part,” Moline said. “They really do miss the buses, but it was the parents who offered up busing instead of increasing class sizes.”
Kyle Feldscher covers K-12 education for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached at kylefeldscher@annarbor.com or you can follow him on Twitter.
Comments
treetowncartel
Wed, Jun 8, 2011 : 6:59 p.m.
Why not put AATA and school bussing all under one umbrella? Or, does that make too much sense.
lefty
Tue, Jun 7, 2011 : 8:44 p.m.
Fewer police, fewer firemen, fewer teachers, fewer services...reinvent Michigan...join me call your representatives!
pegret
Tue, Jun 7, 2011 : 2:42 p.m.
What about limiting high school-bussing to only those who are NOT on or near an AATA line? If city bus passes were subsidized, it should be no cost to families, and students could bear the 'burden' of transferring busses or any additional time required. On another note, I too, walked over a mile to my bus stop as a kid, but it was not in the dark, we didn't have nearly the number of safety concerns that there are today, and I wasn't lugging a 50+lb backpack like my kids do.
jns131
Wed, Jun 8, 2011 : 1:06 p.m.
Great idea, but this would then tick off the parents who say, but what about me? Mine has to walk a 1/4 of a mile to a bus but yours gets special privileges? I walked 2 miles to and from school every day. As for the book bags? They make em with wheels now. Ours will since it will be a hike.
Beth
Tue, Jun 7, 2011 : 4:32 p.m.
I agree, @pegret. There are areas of the townships where kids can't walk or ride the AATA. Not all kids can drive or have a car, and not all parents can get them there. Carpooling is a good idea, but may not always be an option for everyone.
jns131
Tue, Jun 7, 2011 : 2:42 p.m.
I remember this year, they needed a volunteer for an after school program. I told the school I could do Wednesdays. They told me there were no after school buses running and parents would not go for it. I was also told that parents need after school busing to get their children home from these programs. So, if parents need these buses for the after school programs? Does that mean the after school programs will be cut as well due to lack of participation? If this is true? Then the children loose big time because they don't get to do an after school program that otherwise would be available if there was busing. Another good point here? Varsity sports. The coaches need them to transport to and from the schools. So, no after school busing means no after school anything. Interesting.
Cossur
Tue, Jun 7, 2011 : 12:18 p.m.
common_cents is exactly right. It is a dense area surrounded by other dense areas. There is now one public HS and one private but years ago had were 2 public and at least 3 private. Royal Oak has next to no room for growth in housing. The area has been aging for a long time. UNLIKE AA which has 4 large high schools and several smaller ones in addition to the private schools.
DC
Tue, Jun 7, 2011 : 12:13 p.m.
I guess I'm still confused on what the consolidated bussing through WISD is suppose to accomplish. I understood the WISD consolidated service was to save money. In the case of AAPS, apparently not enough money? Ypsilanti is spending additional money for a private vendor to provide bussing, and now AAPS wants to reduce bussing. Why have all this overhead and staff at WISD when districts involved with the consolidated bussing are still running programs very much on their own? I have a high school student who won't be driving for another 1.5 years. I don't know if we're going to be able to afford a car/insurance/gas for our child to drive to school. We live in a township and don't have ready access to public transportation either. AAPS Board and administrators are going to do what they want anyway, so I guess I'll look into car pooling and other alternatives to get my child to/from high school. The law is my kid has to be in school...we'll find a way to make that happen. We all will find ways to make it happen...the AAPS Board and administrators know we will. Back to my original question....how is this countywide consolidated bussing service at WISD helping local districts?
jns131
Tue, Jun 7, 2011 : 2:51 p.m.
Its not. I am hearing from my colleagues that after this privatization among busing they are loosing more and more drivers every week. They are not getting the money from any district except from the district that went with this wacky idea to condense the buses, make things a lot easier on everyone with one billing system. Ypsilanti right now is considering doing away with transportation altogether. Let Trinity handle it. WISD isn't doing a great job finding drivers for Ypsilanti. Ann Arbor can't hang on to the drivers it already has. WISD has proven that it has failed to provide what it said it would do. Lower costs. Ann Arbor needs to recall all of its drivers back and say good bye to WISD and its hair brain idea of running a bus service when its primary goal is to provide special ed services. A mass recall on drivers would sink those involved with WISD. So, for now? Eliminate hi school busing, send those drivers to Ypsi and Willow Run to make up for lack there of and then watch Ypsilanti shut down next year. What a mess. WISD? Stay out of the busing service.
OLDTIMER3
Tue, Jun 7, 2011 : 11:49 a.m.
When we were groing up most working families only had one car so from kindergarten through 3rd grade we had to walk a mile each way to school in all kinds of weather.The only time we had a ride was days dad didn't have to work and boy then it was a treat to get a ride to school.And we all survived. I think todays chilren are spoiled, mine included.
Carole
Tue, Jun 7, 2011 : 9:03 p.m.
To Johnny A -- No lies in my message, and yes, I heard the same stories from my parents -- we all laughed about it. The busiest interaction I had to cross was Stadium Blvd., and S. Main - then on to high school, of course all of the intersections from N. Main to Stadium. My children had to cross Platt Rd. What I am saying is there are many who could walk to school, go home for lunch, and walk back. Buses could be used then for those who really needed them like the AA Mom whose family lives a considerable distance.. RE: Crime - didn't have to worry too much because we had AAPD folks patrolling the streets of AA -- felt extremely safe. Yes, times do change, but is it all for the better -- I wonder.
johnnya2
Tue, Jun 7, 2011 : 4:46 p.m.
Yes, when you were a kid you walked to school 10 miles up hill both ways in 8 feet of snow without a winter jacket. This is the lie parents have been telling their kids for years. I suggest you tell us all how far that distance was. How many major intersections did you ever cross. I guess crime is exactly the same as when you grew up too. I suppose you don;t have a TV, and wear the same clothes, drive the same car, have the same refrigerator, and everything else that has changed in the time since you were in school?
aamom
Tue, Jun 7, 2011 : 12:50 p.m.
I just checked the mileage on google maps. My kids would have to walk 5.5 miles one way to our assigned "neighborhood" elementary, 6.1 miles to middle school, and 2.8 miles to high school. That is unreasonable even for spoiled kids.
Carole
Tue, Jun 7, 2011 : 12:09 p.m.
Walking never hurt anyone. But in this day of age, it seems to be give me, give me, give me. Some one has to pay for those give me items. When it comes to learning academics or walking to school, I vote for the academics. In addition to what oldtimer says, I and my children used to walk not only to school but home for lunch and then back to school. And, for those who think it unsafe, we always encouraged the children to walk in groups. In this day and with all of the concerns about childhood obiesity, (sorry spelled wrong, but you know what I mean) walking would be good for all. I commend those Royal Oak parents/PTO folks who helped those you needed assistance with getting to school -- way go get back to helping one another.
OLDTIMER3
Tue, Jun 7, 2011 : 11:50 a.m.
OOPS, GROWING UP
johnnya2
Tue, Jun 7, 2011 : 11:19 a.m.
Basically he is saying 30% is low participation rate? In what world? I bet their athletic programs are not at that high of a level. How about music? Nearly one third of the eligible high schoolers used the service. The people most likely to NEED the service are those that are lower incomes. They do not have an extra vehicle, or the ability to have their parents come to work whenever they feel like it without getting a hit to their paycheck. As for the increased number of kids walking, I have no problem with high schoolers walking a little farther, but this is still Michigan, and a 6-12 year old in 10 degree weather seems ready for disaster
Craig Lounsbury
Tue, Jun 7, 2011 : 2:01 a.m.
On the other hand Royal Oak seems to have one comprehensive High School for 11.8 square miles of area. Ann Arbor has 3 comprehensive high schools for about 27 square miles.
dswan
Tue, Jun 7, 2011 : 1:02 a.m.
Royal Oak is densely populated inner ring suburb. Any aftershocks felt there will be amplified in Ann Arbor, where the school district reaches far into the surrounding townships.
treetowncartel
Wed, Jun 8, 2011 : 6:56 p.m.
Yes, it is an apple and an orange.