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DURHAM, NC (WNCN) — The Durham Public Schools Board of Education held a special meeting Monday night to address ongoing transportation issues due to a shortage of bus drivers.
The board did not vote on the new plans, but asked the district several questions about the plans before Thursday’s work session.
Since the beginning of December, the district has been using shuttle buses that pick up students four times a week.
Although the five-day-a-week service will return on Jan. 21, another change is scheduled to take effect that day to reduce the number of bus routes in the region. Family-friendly zones will be at 21 elementary schools, meaning parents living in certain neighborhoods within one mile of those schools will not receive bus service.
Board members asked the district questions about the plan. Others expressed concern about what families in those areas who cannot send their children to school will do.
The family care centers were approved by the board two weeks ago. The board also authorized the district to consider bus rapid transit stops for three magnet schools that serve the entire district. Under this plan, students would go to pickup locations instead of being picked up at a stop in their neighborhood.
“We’ve gotten a lot of messages of concern about the immediate stop,” said board member Emily Chavez. “We got a lot.”
Families also voiced concerns in research about the plans, which Superintendent Anthony Lewis shared with the board. The difficulty of driving children to school every day, safety issues when children walk in the dark, and the unavailability of working parents were among the biggest concerns.
Board member Joy Harrell Goff hopes that what she calls ‘band-aid solutions’ won’t be a permanent solution to the bus driver shortage.
“[I’m] I want to know how what we decide will lead to those strong campaigns to get bus drivers on the seats so that it is not a new normal thing,” he said.
The board will continue to discuss these plans during business hours on Thursday at 5:30 p.m. Other plans for families who will not receive bus service and the appeals process are expected to be discussed.
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