Some Elgin Parents Cry Foul When School District Drops Bus Service
(CBS) – For years, students in one Elgin neighborhood took the bus to and from school without a problem. But a few weeks ago they found out that won't be an option this year.
CBS 2's Sandra Torres reports parents who are calling out the school district for making a mistake.
It's a newer neighborhood, one that sits on the northwest side of Elgin.
It's where Camilla Hansen and her family found a great sense of community when they moved in earlier this year.
"We were told by our builder that this portion of neighborhood does, in fact, get bus service," she says.
But as of three weeks ago, that's no longer the case.
Central Unit Community School District 301 sent out a letter to parents of the neighborhood. It said starting this school year, their children will not be provided bus transportation because they reside within the 1.5 mile "walk zone."
It turns out that for years the district had been providing bus transportation by mistake.
Parents are now concerned about their children's safety. They say the children will have to walk past construction sites; some areas don't have sidewalks.
And while they've have brought up all concerns to the school board they say they are not getting very far.
The district superintendent says the district reassessed the situation. Now, at least 60 of the 110 children will get bus transportation. But that's the best they could do under state law.
