A San Antonio grandmother, Jacklyn Cotton, says Judson Independent School District's decision to eliminate a bus route that had long served her neighborhood has made her 11-year-old granddaughter's trip to school both harder and, in Cotton's view, less safe, KSAT reported.
Here's what to know
Because Cotton's home is just inside the district's two-mile cutoff for regular bus service, her granddaughter, who attends Metzger Middle School, only qualifies for school-bus service if the route is considered hazardous.
As KSAT reported, after a recent rezoning, Judson ISD says the walk no longer meets the state's criteria for a hazardous route.
At an August 20 meeting, board members said some routes hadn't been reviewed since 2013 and, after reevaluation, no longer met TEA's standard for hazardous routes. Judson ISD said that the number of routes classified as hazardous had dropped from 33 to 24, per KSAT.
The district's records show Cotton's granddaughter's route to Metzger Middle School was removed from the hazardous list after sidewalks were added along parts of the walk. Cotton said those additions still do not make the route safe.
"I wouldn't want my grandchild or anybody else's child to walk this street," she told KSAT.
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More background
Under Judson ISD and Texas Education Agency guidelines, routes can be deemed hazardous for several different reasons. These include high levels of violent crime, a lack of a sidewalk or walkway, or travel along or across busy areas such as major roads, bridges, or freeways.
"We have to be careful with that because it involves funding," said Monica Ryan, the Judson ISD board president, at the August 20 board meeting, according to KSAT. "So if it's declared a hazardous route, it has to meet certain criteria and then we get extra funding from the state to bus those students."
Cotton argued that the district's written criteria do not reflect what children actually face on the ground.
"Yes, they have the sidewalks, but cars, they speed up and down the street," she said, per KSAT.
KSAT also reported that the district is dealing with a bus-driver shortage that can lead to longer routes or delayed schedules.
What's being done?
District spokesperson Lexie Greathouse said the district revisits route classifications as neighborhoods and infrastructure change, and that additions such as sidewalks, crosswalks, traffic controls, and pedestrian paths can remove hazardous conditions.
In a statement cited by KSAT, Judson ISD said it bases hazardous-route decisions on Texas Education Code 48.151 and board policy rather than budget considerations.
To keep transportation running during staffing shortages, the district said it uses substitute drivers when possible and may temporarily assign transportation administrators to drive routes. In rare cases, the district may group routes together or run them in waves.
The school board has formed a committee to review routes parents believe are dangerous, and families can request a reevaluation through a district form.
Cotton told KSAT that the district's response has not eased her concerns.
Where can I learn more?
Questions about how safely children can get to school come up in other communities, too. These stories look at risky school crossings, dangerous bus-stop conditions, school pickup design, and everyday sidewalk hazards.
• In Calgary, parents said students face a risky crossing near school despite painted markings.
• In Denver, riders said an icy bus-stop approach left pedestrians stranded beside traffic.
• On a neighborhood street, a family's tense crossing underscored how road design endangers pedestrians.
• During a neighborhood walk, cars blocking the sidewalk turned an ordinary route into a hazard.
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