OMAHA, Neb. (KMTV) — Some Omaha Public School students will have to find a new way to get to school after the district announced it would adjust who is eligible for bus transportation.
The district says it continues to struggle to find enough bus drivers to serve its students and hopes that expanding the range for which a student is eligible for bus transportation will improve reliability for students still using the bus.
The distance is increasing by a half mile for every age group of students, meaning elementary students will need to live 1.5 miles away, and middle schoolers at least 2 miles away to be eligible.
Home-to-bus stop distances are also increasing by two blocks per age group. the parents we spoke to said the half-mile increase wasn't ideal but outside of the youngest students, didn't seem concerning.
“Some of the little kids are living a further distance away from, not living in the neighborhood they live a little further away. That might be a challenge for the little kids. For the middle schoolers and high schoolers? That's not a long way to walk,” said Charlotte, a parent.
The new numbers to determine transportation eligibility are what OPS had previously used to determine transportation eligibility prior to 2015.
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