JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Some Duval County middle and high school students will be losing bus transportation in the upcoming school year.
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This comes after a policy change. Buses used to pick up all students who lived more than a mile-and-a-half away from their school, and while that will remain the same for elementary school students, middle and high schoolers going forward will have to live at least two miles from their school to have bus access.
One neighborhood that may be affected is Oceanway Village, which is located about a mile and a half from Oceanway Middle School. That’s where News4JAX spoke with met Roseanne Trapani, who describes herself as “the neighborhood grandma.”
She said none of the kids she was watching go to Duval County Public Schools, but other kids in the neighborhood do.
“Last year I remember we would go up there to meet my granddaughter’s friends, and there would probably be about 15 kids get off that bus,” she said.
She said she thinks middle schoolers potentially having to walk to school from the neighborhood is “not a good idea.”
The route includes construction and busy roads, although there are also sidewalks.
“If you look at like the crime, and the sex offenders registry, I mean, it’s everywhere, but it’s pretty populated in this area,” she said.
The Duval County School Board voted on the bussing policy change in May. They were originally set to vote on making all students, including elementary schoolers, ineligible for busing if they live within two miles of their schools.
But the board voted 5-2 to change the policy so it would only apply to middle and high schoolers, despite concerns from board members Charlotte Joyce and Lori Hershey about the costs.
According to district staff, cutting off bus transportation for all students who live within two miles of their would have saved between $500,000 to $1 million, while limiting the change to just middle and high schoolers will save between $250,000 to $500,000.
That compromise is what the board ultimately voted 5-2 to approve.
Board member Kelly Coker said she was worried about the safety of some students in her district.
“Those K, 1, 2s walking to campus in areas where there’s police activity and things like that for the Arlington Community is a struggle for me,” Coker said.
“I think the amendment proposes a compromise,” said board member Cindy Pearson. “We have applied the two miles to middle and high school, our secondary students, and we are keeping the 1.5 for our youngest students. So we are seeing some cost savings in there but also balancing safety of our youngest students.”
To register a student for bus transportation, click here. School starts on August 12.