SANTA ROSA COUNTY, Fla. -- Many parents reached out to Channel 3 with concerns about the changes to school bus routes in Santa Rosa County and they shared several reasons with us.
It's not unreasonable to ask a student to walk two miles to his or her bus stop, that's according to Florida law.
But as new changes to Santa Rosa County School's bus stops will only require some students to cover half that distance, parents Channel 3 spoke with don't understand the reason for change.
"I don't have a choice," Shannon Kraft, a parent said. "I have to depend on this transportation to stop at my house."
Kraft's 8-year-old is going into third grade at Rhodes Elementary.
Until this year, the bus stopped in front of the Kraft home. She says the new stop is now close to a half-mile.
"Why would you move it when there wasn't a problem with it? Why did you move it when there was no issue with it?" Kraft said.
The school district cites the driver shortage as the main reason for the adjustment.
Transportation officials report the adjustment will reduce the number of daily stops from roughly 6,900 to 3,500.
The foster family has three kids in elementary, middle and high school in the district.
The school system has adjusted the stop for their youngest, but they still have concerns for their older students.
"It makes it to where its extremely inconvenient and for it to be something that was just thrown together last minute, its really disappointing," Daniel Foster, a parent said.
But aside from the inconvenience of a longer walk to the bus, there's another issue with parents.
Multiple parents have expressed concerns about registered sex offenders living near their bus stops.
According to Florida law, no sex offender is allowed to live within 1,000 feet of a bus stop.
Furthermore, a school board can't relocate a bus stop within those boundaries.
Shannon Kraft pointed out at least one in her neighborhood.
"I put in a request, and I haven't heard anything," Kraft said. "It really breaks my heart."
While Channel 3 couldn't confirm if the bus stops were within the legal distance, we did find at least four registered sex offenders less than a mile away from said stop.
Other parents, like Ashley Farmer say the district was quick to resolve her issue, moving her child's bus stop to a quicker and safer location.
"They did fix my issue," Farmer said. "They have changed our bus stop so I am happy about that however there are still many people who have not had their bus stops changed."
- CHANNEL 3: "What's your message to parents that haven't gotten a solution yet?"
- FARMER: "Just don't give up till its resolved because safety should be the priority here."
But Santa Rosa County isn't alone.
In neighboring Escambia County, a similar policy is in place.
Middle and high school students may be required to walk up to one mile to their stop.
In a lengthy response from the district, officials say of the 18,000 postcards that were mailed out notifying parents of the changes, the transportation office "positively addressed" nearly three-fourths of requests.
Channel 3 has provided the full response below:
Workforce shortages have caused our district to make some adjustments in bus stop locations. Last year, our buses had a 75% on-time rate to school most days. That means many of our students were missing valuable instructional time because they were still on the bus. The lack of bus drivers post-pandemic caused routes to be delayed and drivers having to run additional routes to get students to and from school. So, instead of door-to-door and more frequent stops, the district is moving to group/neighborhood stops. This plan is set to improve on-time rate from 75% to 95%, thus increasing instructional time for students.
Since the Board’s approval of the bus stop changes in May, publications went out with information about the proposed and approved bus stop changes (LEAPs and Bounds Magazine and Success in the Classroom video). Additionally, several local news media sources also publicized the bus stop changes. The transportation department took the month of June and some of July to revise bus stops to reflect more group/neighborhood stops.
Florida Administrative Code 6A-3.001(3) states that a reasonable walking distance for any student who is not otherwise eligible for transportation pursuant to Section 1011.68, F.S., is any distance not more than two (2) miles between the home and school or one and one-half (1 1/2) miles between the home and the assigned bus stop.
Florida Administrative Code 6A-3.0121(c)(1) Responsibility of School District and Parents or Guardians for Students Who Are Transported at Public Expense, states that the district shall inform parents, guardians, and students at least annually in writing of their responsibilities and related district policies to ensure the safe travel of their students during the portions of each trip to and from school and home when the students are not under the custody and control of the school district, including during each trip to and from home and the assigned bus stop when the school district provides bus transportation.
Parents have been informed of their bus stops via a postcard from transportation and “we appreciate the cooperation we have received from parents to ensure their children arrive safely at their bus stop. As parents have identified better options for stops, the transportation department has made feasible bus stop changes,” says Superintendent Dr. Karen Barber.
We understand the concerns parents have and never want to discount their concerns of safety. Parents are encouraged to complete a REQUEST FORM with transportation to have their concern reviewed at https://sites.santarosa.k12.fl.us/transportation/Transportation411.htm. Safety of our students remains a priority for us and that’s why it is so important for parents to partner with us to get their children to the designated bus stop locations.
Of the 18,000 postcards that have been mailed out, our transportation office has received around 250 inquiries, with a 71% average of those inquiries being positively addressed and closed out. As student enrollment increases, there may be a need for adjustments to bus stops and routes. That happens every year. Those adjustments will be made so that all students who ride a school bus can get to and from their school and home destinations in a safe and timely manner.
The transportation department is continuing to seek applicants and hire for bus drivers. If anyone is interested in becoming a bus driver for Santa Rosa District Schools at https://stacareers.com/. Student Transportation of America is also offering a $2,000 sign-on bonus.