KAUKAUNA, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) – Some students in Kaukauna will no longer be eligible to ride the bus starting in the fall of 2023.
“All grades who live outside of two miles from their school will now qualify for busing,” Superintendent Mike Slowinski said. “Whereas students living inside of two miles will either find their own transportation or walk to school.”
Slowinski said the district is facing an ongoing bus driver shortage.
Several options were looked at, but the board elected to limit the number of routes taken. The school board unanimously decided to make a change next year. The minimum distance for pick up will be moved from half a mile to two miles.
State law requires districts to provide bus routes to anyone living two miles from their school. Kaukauna is one of the few districts in the state to have a current radius less than two miles.
“The responsible thing to do in this situation is to to make sure the change was made prior to the bus routes being impossible to run and then scrambling to find a solution,” Slowinski said.
Slowinski said reception to the change has been mixed.
In a public city Facebook group, some have expressed support while others voiced concerns.
“People that haven’t had to really deal with it don’t really have an idea what they’re going to do, so I can understand their struggle,” area resident Lori Evers said.
Evers has been driving her grandkids to school for years since they live outside the radius. She’s able to help out her family, but her concern is that others won’t be able to do the same. She also has worries about student safety.
“My kids, the older ones, can take their bikes and ride on the sidewalks — but kids that live far away that don’t have that option — you want them to take their bikes, but now they’re riding on highways.”
Slowinski is confident the district is taking the best approach.
Officials will continue keeping families updated throughout the transitional period.
“What we’re going to be doing now is coming up with solutions within the changed policy language to see what we can do to help families — knowing a change of this kind certainly can be an inconvenience for some families and a change in routine,” Slowinski said.
In a memo to the board, Slowinski wrote that it would reduce the number of buses used for schools to 72.
Exceptions can also be made for students inside of two miles if there is an “unusual hazard.”
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