CYPRESS, Texas – Monday was the first day of school for many districts in our area including Cy-Fair ISD.
The big topic of discussion was the district’s school bus policy. Many parents expressed their concerns about school bus routes that were cut because of budget cuts.
The district said students who had a safe ride last year may be walking longer distances this year. Under the district’s plan, elementary students less than a mile from campus and middle school students less than two miles away won’t have access to a bus.
KPRC 2 reporter Re’Chelle Turner spent the morning at Goodson Middle School talking to parents about the changes.
Some parents say the drop-off experience was a little challenging. I caught up with Jackie Aldrete who lives about a mile away from the school and she walked with her son.
“The experience was a little difficult,” Jackie Aldrete said. “I think the first thing that we need to think about is the safety of the kids when they’re walking to school. There are no sidewalks. In my opinion, they should have a crosswalk right in front as they communicated. The ISD communicated in a letter that they will have a crosswalk right in front of the principal door, the main door of the school, and unfortunately, we don’t have that.”
On KPRC 2 News Today, I spoke with Anahita Doles. Her daughter is a seventh-grade student at Goodson, and she refuses to let her walk to school.
“We are losing the confidence that we had in our education system,” she said.
She showed us the route her daughter would have to take from her home to get to the school and said it was too dangerous to walk.
“My daughter is going to Goodson Middle School from here It’s a five-minute drive and if I want to walk it’s 37 minutes,” she said.
RELATED: Students face daunting walks to school amid Cy-Fair ISD bus issues
Like many other parents, Doles must change her routine when it comes to getting her child to school.
“I have to drop her and be late for my job. My husband must pick her up which is also a burden for him,” Doles said.
She has concerns about her daughter walking on Huffmeister road, the human and sex trafficking rates in Houston, and the weather.
“There is no sidewalk there, there is no biking or walking possible. The walk is going to be 38-39 minutes in Houston weather. There is a memorial for a guy who was killed by a drunk driver the exact route that my daughter has to take,” she said.
She also shared her experience with the drop-off.
“So, I was here at 7 and now it’s 7.19. So, I didn’t see any police officer at the intersection to help the kids pass through the lines. I was expecting some police officer there, but I didn’t see one. It wasn’t a good experience at all, and you see that the street is very busy, and parents are just, you know, nervous,” Doles said.
Doles is even considering sending her daughter to another school.
“Because If I have to drive her why drive her so school to Goodson…I’m going to drive her to somewhere better some charter school some magnet,” she said.
The district says it doesn’t get enough money from the state to pay for bus service. Board members say they never wanted to cut routes but had to as a way to protect jobs.