3/28/2023
WATCH: Superintendent Yater’s Transportation Presentation
NWLSD Families,
In an effort to keep you abreast of decisions as they are made, I wanted to provide you with information that was shared at last night’s Board of Education meeting regarding transportation for the 2023-2024 school year.
This letter will address two issues:
- Long range plans for transportation for the 23/24 school year
- Our school closure on March 24th, and how we plan to move forward.
We appreciate how much engagement we received about the proposed transportation options. We had over 400 responses, with 26% from staff and 61% from parents.
After weighing the pros and cons of the options, we’ve decided to stay with our existing three-tier transportation system, and make modifications. We plan to modify it in the following manner:
Long range transportation plans:
- Decrease Bus Stop Locations: This will allow our buses to be more efficient and reduce the number of routes to match more closely with the number of drivers we have in the department. During the time allocated between dropping off at one school and getting to the next, it will allow the bus to stop fewer times and pick up more students at each stop. Impact: This will change the walk out zone in each neighborhood, and may increase the distance students have to walk to get to a bus stop. We will continue to maintain necessary stops as it pertains to safety.
- Alter Start and End Times: We will be changing some of the start and end times of our buildings to maximize efficiency, specifically on the Pippin Road sites. We will also be shortening the elementary student day to approximately what it was before 2018.
Staggering arrival and dismissal times, will help alleviate some congestion and will allow buses to navigate routes more seamlessly.
The new times are below:
School | 2023-2024 Start | 2023-24 End |
| Current start | Current End |
CMS/WOMS/ PRMS | 7:15 | 2:05 |
| 7:20 | 2:20 |
CHS/NWHS | 7:45 | 2:30 |
| 8:00 | 2:45 |
SE/PRE | 8:05 | 2:45 |
| 8:00 | 3:00 |
CE/MHE/TE | 8:50 | 3:30 |
| 8:50 | 3:50 |
HELC | 8:05 12:20 | 10:45 3:00 |
| 8:05 12:20 | 10:45 3:00 |
Second, I would like to address the closure on Friday, March 24. Based on the number of open routes and transportation staff who were scheduled to be off that day, we would have needed to cancel upwards of 20-25 routes which would have resulted in 6-7 route cancellations per building. This would have tripled the number of car riders and the traffic congestion. Based on the known impact of 2-4 routes being canceled at a building, it was not possible for our systems to support a cancellation of that magnitude.
Since then, we have been able to work with all of our partners to create an alternative plan if this were to happen again. In the future, we will run a modified schedule with shortened school days for all of our schools including the non-public school partners to which we provide transportation. More details about this plan will be forthcoming soon so buildings can begin to plan schedules for the day if it happens again.
I would like to thank everyone for their flexibility as we continue to navigate new and uncharted waters in public education. Transportation is one topic, but ongoing legislation about school funding and accountability measures are other areas where we will continue to communicate and collaborate in order to ensure we are unified in our support of public education and specifically Northwest.
As much as possible, we will continue to get feedback and operate from a fair process perspective. This means engaging everyone and getting feedback that we truly listen to and value. Then, processing all the feedback and communicating a decision and the rationale for the decision. Lastly, we will communicate the expectation so everyone knows what is expected of them in relation to the decision.
Respectfully,
Darrell Yater
Superintendent