Several families on County Roads 523 and 525 southeast of Bayfield want a school bus route restored for their kids. They pressed their case at the Aug. 25 Bayfield School Board meeting.
Transportation Director Jeff Whitmore said that extending another route to include that neighborhood would impact every other family on the route. He also opposed sending a bus up CR 525 to an old bus turnaround because of safety issues.
"We struggle with these issues every day, to make it most efficient," he said. The district has seven bus routes, and 523/525 isn't the only place in the district without bus pick-up, he said, but it probably has the most riders among the areas that aren't on a route.
He referred to the route that starts at Beaver Meadows, then goes past the Sauls Creek turnoff continuing towards town, then south on 526, then west on 523 to the Buck Highway and back to town. Swinging east on 523 to pick up more kids would add about 15 minutes to the route. "It sounds so easy, and it's not," he said. It could mean the first kids on the route would get picked up at 6:15 a.m., versus 6:40 now.
Superintendent Troy Zabel said district policy requires a certain number of riders before a route extension will be considered.
The families peititoning for the route extension represent around 10 kids, Whitmore said. Going south on 523 to 524, then back to the Buck Highway, could bring it to around 30 kids. "Before I started, I know (former transportation director) Larry Black cut two routes. At that time, there were only three riders on that loop."
Zabel clarified, "It was financiaal. We cut $1.4 million out of our budget when the economy went south, and we haven't made that back."
Whitmore said, "This has come up every year in the three years I've been here. The real issue, I think it needs a new route to make it work." That would cost around $15,000 without buying a new bus. "Several times last year, we were down to our last bus. This would take away from our reserves for trips." He added, "There are always issues finding bus drivers. It always seems to come up in the fall."
Zabel said, "The only solution is start really early or adjust like crazy on other routes."
The families argued that heavy traffic, including gas industry vehicles, make it unsafe where their kids now wait for the bus.
Whitmore noted Forest Lakes residents must bring their kids down to the bus stop, and there's a lot of traffic there as well. "It's not just you guys," he said.
Zabel proposed to call parents on 523/525 before the Sept. 15 board meeting to determine how many kids would ride the bus if it came to their area.
Whitmore said that out of the 1,300 students in Bayfield schools, around 300 ride the bus on any given day.
