CPS Will Save A Few Million By Making Students Walk Farther To School
By Margaret Paulson in News on Jul 25, 2015 4:00PM
In a move to save a few million dollars, the cash-strapped Chicago Public School system announced plans this week to drastically reduce the number of bus stops for the 2015-16 school year by more than half. Currently, CPS provides bus service for students attending selective-enrollment and magnet schools since they are often traveling farther distances.
Most of the current 450 pickup stops for these students are located at schools in their respective neighborhoods, making them easily accessible. However, under the new plan, CPS Manager of Student Transportation Routing Martin Ellinger told parents and school council members that bus stops would now be reduced to 180. Special education students though would continue to be picked up at their homes via bus.
According to DNAinfo, consolidating bus stops will save CPS around $2.3 million. However, there will likely be an outcry from the community, considering that around two-thirds of students will have new bus stops, which may require them to walk up to 1.5 or 2 miles to access it (the average walk is said to be about 0.6 miles). This brings up legitimate concerns about student safety.
Perhaps CPS should have just stuck with its less controversial and greater money-saving move—changing the bell schedules at 60 CPS high schools and 17 elementary schools. Those changes will save around $9.2 million by eliminating extra bus routes that currently serve schools on an 8:30 or 8:45 a.m. bell schedule, rather than the more standard 7:30, 7:45, or 9 a.m. schedules.
Ellinger told parents that these changes are necessary for the nation’s third largest school district and are on par with systems at other urban school districts.