LA VISTA, Neb. (KMTV) – Stefanie Barton connected with more parents who share her concerns. The group has since organized and plans to bring their concerns back to the school board together on Monday.
- • Parents in the Papillion-La Vista School District are pushing the school board to expand busing for secondary students affected by the district's 4-mile transportation policy.
- The district previously conducted a transportation evaluation but said expanded busing would not benefit enough students to be viable.
- The parents plan to bring their concerns to the next school board meeting, scheduled for Monday at 6 p.m.
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
Two Papillion-La Vista parents are calling on their school board to expand transportation options for secondary students, saying the district's current busing policy leaves families without reliable options for getting their children to school.
Angie Fair, an active duty military family member who recently moved to the district, said she was caught off guard when she learned her daughter would not receive transportation to La Vista Middle School.
"I was a little caught off guard," Fair said.
Under the district's current policy, secondary students who live within 4 miles of their school are not provided transportation. Fair said military families often have little control over where they are stationed and rely on local communities and school districts to provide basic services.
"We don't always have a lot of flexibility or time to be particularly about where we live so we just have to find the best options and believe the local community and school districts provide the foundational items that we have come to experience everywhere we have," Fair said.
Earlier this month, KMTV spoke with Stefanie Barton after she brought similar concerns to the school board. The district said it conducted a transportation evaluation 2 years ago, and the results showed the cost of additional busing would not benefit enough students to be considered viable. Barton said she has not seen that data.
"Everything I keep hearing is we will have a discussion, we will talk about it with this subcommittee, we will talk about it at the summer retreat," Barton said.
Since that story aired, Barton connected with more parents who share her concerns, including Fair. The group has since organized and plans to bring their concerns back to the school board together.
"I hope they realize that the community and the voters who putting these board members in place, we care about these issues and sitting there and patting yourselves on the back about what you're doing is not good enough, we need action," Barton said.
A review of policies at other area districts shows some offer free transportation to students who live 2 or more miles from school, while others require parents to pay for busing within the 4-mile threshold.
The parents say they are not asking for a tax increase, but rather a shift in how existing funds are allocated.
"I'm not asking for an increase in taxes, they have the money, I'm asking them to realign their budget priorities and make student safety a priority," Barton said.
"I think it's important to let people know if there's an issue and it's ongoing, and this is something that really impacts everybody's day to day," Fair said.
The next Papillion-La Vista school board meeting is Monday at 6 p.m. The parents KMTV spoke with are encouraging neighbors to attend.
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