Board Member Meg Erler. (City-Times photo)

Erler wants better assurances for the future of district busing issues

By Sara Marls

Officials from the Stevens Point School District say the final report on busing snafus during the first several days of school last week won’t be available until October 1.

The board held a special meeting on Monday after several complaints from parents indicated students were picked up late, not picked up at all, or dropped off in wrong locations following the school day. Some parents also said they had students in 4-K dropped off at home while parents were still working instead of a daycare location.

Last Thursday, a bus carrying students from Ben Franklin Junior High wound up taking the youngsters to Junction City, despite being scheduled to drop the students off at Madison Elementary for after-school soccer practice. Some of those students were children of area teachers and at least one school board member.

On Friday, several parents reported seeing school buses near McDill Elementary transferring students from one bus to another mid-route and belied initial reports the problems were small and did not extend past the first day of school.

Parents also complained about the district’s decision to publish a list of pickup addresses on the district’s website on August 30th. Superintendent Attila Weninger said that decision was made to better inform parents about transportation after busing information was not mailed to families two weeks before school as usual. No names were listed with the pickup information but after some parents complained the list was taken down.

“That’s how many other district do it, and we didn’t have any concerns for student safety over releasing that information. However I heard from some- just a few- parents who had safety concerns,” Weninger said. “So we contacted the Portage County Sheriff’s Office, the Plover Police Department and the Stevens Point Police Department to ask if they would put out extra patrols and just let their officers know the situation.”

But the explanation wasn’t good enough for some on the board, with Vice President Jeff Presley saying the information should be available much sooner than October 1, asking for details by the next board meeting on September 15th.

“I think we should be able to see a full report by our new meeting,” Presley said. “I mean, come on- this is an issue that should be on the front burner for every administrator in this district.”

Board Member Meg Erler said she also wanted details on how the district would avoid such problems in the future.

“I am very concerned about what has happened,” Erler said, “but I’m more concerned about what is going to happen as we move forward.”

Weninger told the board he had been meeting with staff in the district’s transportation office daily and said the majority of the district’s students have not been adversely affected by the busing problems.

Repeated attempts to reach Transportation Director John Shepard have been unsuccessful.

The board meets again at 6:30 PM on September 15 at Bliss Educational Services Center, 1900 Polk Street. The public is welcome to attend.