When the bell rings at Kramer Elementary School at 3:15 p.m., Alicia Johnson's son packs his books into his bag to go home.
He meets with a group of neighborhood kids, but they aren't waiting for a bus to pick them up. Instead, they will walk home for 23 minutes down College Corner Pike, one of Oxford's busiest streets.
He is 9 years old.
Many students in the Talawanda School District begin walking home most weekdays around 3 p.m., after the Talawanda School District Board of Education voted to cut back on buses as a result of budget cuts. The district moved to a single tier of services. That means only students in kindergarten through eighth grade who live outside a two-mile radius of the school will be provided busing.
Due to the bus change, the start times for elementary, middle and high schools will also change. From December 2023, elementary schools will start at 8:25 a.m., junior high schools will start at 8:00 a.m., and high schools will start at 8:15 a.m.
Johnson had to rearrange her work schedule so she could take her son to school. Johnson is a caseworker with Butler County Employment and Family Services, and all caseworkers have a specific schedule.
“I come to work later than all the other caseworkers, but I stay late, and I have to get approval to work outside of normal business hours,” Johnson said.
She is unable to pick him up after school, so he walks home with other children in the neighborhood.
In December 2023, the board voted to reinstate double-tier buses, but with the possibility of using a new service that would cost an additional $1 million. District Treasurer Shawna Tafelski said this year's bus contract is expected to cost the district $2,486,376, with an overage cost of $20,342. She said Tafelski said the district has spent between $165,000 and $215,000 on busing in the past.
The board can vote on the financial impact of the service, but district Superintendent Ed Therru will decide logistics such as routes and start times. We created a survey for parents and staff to share feedback before board members vote on services.
Molly Farrar, a parent in the district, praised this.
“I think they should have done an investigation and I think they should have done it sooner,” Farrar said. “Once they found out there was a possibility and funding to bring back the buses, I think they should have done a survey to find out how families felt about it and what the majority wanted.”
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The survey asked parents to rank three options from most preferred to least preferred. By moving to the new plan, you can either move up the start time for elementary school students and move back the start time for middle school and high school students, maintain the current 1-tier bus service, or return to the previous 2-tier service and change the start time for elementary school students. The start time will be moved up for middle school and high school students.
“Not everyone works 8 to 5,” Hensel said. “So we received a lot of feedback about things like individual parents' work schedules and issues around school start times at different levels.”
Johnson chose to bring back last year's two-stage bus schedule because it was easier to fit around her work schedule and was good for her son's behavior.
“Since the schedule change, I've gotten a lot of emails from teachers saying that they're starting to feel sleepy during class,” Johnson said. “He didn't adjust well to coming to work later in the day instead of getting up early.”
It also affects his after-school activities.
“He has ADHD and kids need play time as well as guidance and education,” Johnson said. “They need time for recreational purposes. The school schedule they currently have and the schedule they are proposing for next school year will greatly damage his after-school play.”
Farrar, who lives outside a two-mile radius of Talawanda Middle School, was not affected by the bus changes. Farrar works from home as a software girlfriend trainer, so she drives the twins to Kramer and her middle school son takes the bus.
Farrar recognizes that she is better off than other parents because she has the flexibility to take her children to school, but she is concerned about the board's understanding of the financial impact switching bus service would have on the district. He said he hopes it will be considered.
“We went from 'We need a levy' to 'We have more money because of this property tax increase,' but we don't know if that's the right place to spend it,” Farrar said. said.
In fall 2022, the board placed an operating tax on the November ballot, but it did not pass. Butler County property taxes will be reassessed in fall 2023 to generate revenue for the school district.
The survey was conducted for 13 days and 971 of the 1,880 households in the district responded to the survey.
Based on the results, most parents were in favor of maintaining the current plan with a tier 1 bus service. According to the guardian, returning to the old Her two-tier bus service is ranked as his second most preferred option, with the new Her two-tier bus service ranked last.
In addition, Talawanda employees were also invited to participate in the survey. Of the 362 eligible employees, 295 have completed the training.
Employees also favored keeping the current plan, with the previous two-tier bus service ranked second. Employees also ranked the new double-decker bus service last.
The board plans to present and discuss the findings during a work session May 9 at 6 p.m. at Talawanda High School. The board will not vote on the decision or allow public participation during the session, but plans to notify the board of the decision before its May 16 regular meeting, when a vote may be taken.
Hensel said she understands that whatever plan is decided upon won't work for every family, but she believes the board has developed the best plan possible.
“[Parents] We were formally given the opportunity to share our views on the options on the table,” Hansell said. “I think that’s the best possible strategy, and I look forward to hearing the results at the next school board meeting.”
momanyaj@miamioh.edu