Phelps Luck Elementary PTA

We are a Title 1 school and large areas of our community are home to children that are of higher socio-economic need. Without county provided transportation, these children may not be able to attend school on a regular basis because of lack of personal transportation, lack of available adult supervision when walking 1+ mile to and from school (something that is required by law for any child under the age of 8), or especially rainy, cold or hot conditions. This will cause an increase in absenteeism and result in missed instruction time.  The resultant inequity brought on by the changes to the non-transportation zones stand in stark contrast to the HCPSS Strategic Call to Action which states, “All operations will be responsive, accountable, efficient and student‑centered. Schools, families and community partners, working together, will deliver on these four overarching commitments through a focus on student-centered practices, inclusive relationships, and responsive and efficient operations.”

 

As a school community, we urge you to reconsider the following changes that were made to Policy 5200 that will negatively affect a large portion of our school children:

 

1. Utilizing transportation software, measurements will begin at the property boundary or the school/school campus from the closest adjacent suitable pathway and end at the property line of the bona fide residence:

Instead we urge HCPSS to return to the implementation procedure that called for measurements for elementary school transportation boundaries to be measured from doors of bona fide residences to school entries. 

 

2. In establishing the demarcation line between transported and non-transported areas, the Student Transportation Office may extend these distances to coincide with breaks in the pattern of homes, such as cul-de-sac, street intersections, major roadways, streams, parks, walking easements, commercial property, vacant land, unusual contour variations, and other features.

Instead of implementing the demarcation line in an arbitrary and subjective fashion, we urge HCPSS to implement the demarcation line at the 1 mile mark in a fair, equal, and objective fashion as required by law. 

 

Thank you for your consideration in altering these points in Policy 5200 to ensure the safety and well-being of our children as well as ensuring the implementation of Policy 5200 is in accordance with federal statutes.