LIVONIA, Mich. – Parents are voicing concerns after Livonia Public Schools announced it would change its walking zones ahead of the new school year.
An email sent to parents on Wednesday (Aug. 13) explained that the district is updating its routing software, which would affect transportation for some students.
The email warned that in some cases, walking distances may be longer than those suggested by district policy.
“We use district policies regarding walking distances to school as important guidelines -but not as strict limits,” Assistant Superintendent of Operations William Green wrote in the email. “In many cases, walking distances within our walk zones are shorter than the policy states. In a few instances, the distance may slightly exceed the guideline, but only when supported by safe and reasonable walking paths.”
Mary-Katherine Richardson learned that her 13-year-old daughter, a student at Frost Middle School, is one of the students now losing bus transportation.
“I gave the notice right when they asked. They asked who needed bus transportation. I gave them that notice months ago. Twelve days before school, they indirectly tell everyone you’re not going to have it,” Richardson said. “I’m frustrated because that’s not fair to my daughter.”
The route Richardson’s daughter will now have to walk is just a five-minute drive, but a more than 30-minute walk.
Another route, which runs along Schoolcraft Road, is more than 40 minutes.
“We have had kids that are getting hit by vehicles, unfortunately, that are walking along streets,” Richardson said. “Those same streets they’re having kids cross to get to school now.”
In a statement, District Communications Administrator Stacy Jenkins said Livonia Public Schools is committed to addressing parents’ concerns and that the changes are only affecting a small portion of bus riders. Jenkins provided the following statement to Local 4:
“In Livonia Public Schools, transporting more than 6,000 students, daily, in the safest and most efficient manner is our goal. With that in mind, we recently updated our decades-old routing software to a new system, which has prompted some revisions to our walk zones. The district’s walk zone policy has not changed -- the new routing software provides more precision in identifying the walk zones.
The change in walk zones impacts less than 1% of bus riders, and for many, bus service is now being added to prior walk zones. The result is a handful of families who are impacted by being moved to a walk zone, while others will now receive bus service for the first time.
We want to emphasize that we are willing to work with individual families to find the best and safest route.
We plan to individually review special circumstances and will have two-way communication with families who contact us regarding the change in their walk zone. We have “all hands on deck” to address these concerns.”
Jenkins said walk zones and routing weren’t finalized until after bus registration closed on Wednesday, and that the email sent Wednesday afternoon was the first opportunity the district had to inform families of the new routing output.
Parents concerned about their child’s route can request a review by contacting the district offices or communications@livoniapublicschools.org.