Durham Public Schools holds special meeting to discuss bus schedules, new measures

DURHAM, N.C. (WTVD) -- Durham Public Schools held a special meeting on Monday to discuss a plan to get the district back to a full, five-day-a-week bus schedule after it scaled back service for families in December.

Last month, the DPS board approved a move to a new bus schedule that would only provide rides to families four days a week amid an ongoing driver shortage plaguing the district. That plan was originally supposed to take effect for three weeks in December, then was extended until Jan. 17.

Now, DPS hopes that schedule change will be phased out and replaced by two new measures: "family responsibility zones" and express bus stops. The former -- which was approved for 21 elementary schools last month -- would establish an area within a 1.5-mile radius of the school that won't have bus service, a method being used in Wake and Mecklenburg counties. Express bus stops, which the board approved for three secondary schools, would create bus stops at strategic DPS locations as opposed to a school or neighborhood.

"It's not a question of the policy, it's a question of how the policy will be implemented," said Rafe Mazer, whose son Theo is a fourth grader at EK Powe -- one of the elementary schools that will soon have a family responsibility zone.

Rafe told ABC11 that Theo already walks to school, but he still has concerns about what the rollout of this plan would mean -- and if the district has the safety infrastructure to make it work.

"This intersection, even with the zebra stripes; people really do not stop for kids," he said.

Rafe was referring to the intersection of Broad and Knox streets, which Theo has to cross on his way to school each morning. Though there's a crossing guard for Powe on 9th Street, Rafe said there's just a crosswalk at Broad and Knox --and that's led to some frighteningly close calls.

"The other day, my son waited patiently and he got a signal from a car. They stopped and he was crossing and the car behind the stopped car swerved around to go past him, and almost hit him," he said.

It's concerns such as those that are top of mind as the board mulls over the rollout of these new measures -- currently set to take effect Jan. 21 -- that could lead to hundreds more children walking to school each morning.

The family responsibility zones and express bus stops are meant to help offset the burden caused by the district's bus driver shortage and help them transition back to a full, five-day bus schedule.

"We're turning over every stone we can possibly turn over to meet the needs here. This is priority one for Durham Public Schools," said Dr. Larry Webb, Chief Operating Officer for the district.

ABC11 asked Webb if, even with the new, approved measures, parents could expect the "rotational bus schedule" to continue past Jan. 17, when it's set to expire.

"I can't tell you in a finite -- or anything of that nature except right now we are scheduled through Jan. 17," he said.

Webb said the district has seven new drivers it is expediting into the workforce but admitted it's about 15-20 drivers short of where it needs to be, and acknowledged that pay is a factor as the market for drivers becomes more competitive.

He added that DPS knows all of the options being weighed -- including the responsibility zones and express stops -- are ultimately stopgaps.

"Anything else is just a shortcut. But that's the ultimate fix is making sure we have the right, caring employees doing the job. And that is not as speedy a process as we would like," Webb said.

At Monday's special meeting, the issue of safety when it comes to more children potentially walking to school was brought up several times. The school board has opened a survey for parents, teachers, and staffers to weigh in on all these measures, which it said will be presented with more depth at Thursday's meeting when a decision on bus schedules could be announced.