by Dennis Sharkey
Landmark reporter
Platte County R-3 School District officials say the current system for dismissing students could be safer and less expensive.
Assistant Superintendent Rob Gardner presented a plan to the school board on Thursday that would change the bell times for all students. Currently, students who attend schools at the district's north campus in Platte City arrive at 7:40 a.m. and leave at 2:40. Students who attend the south campus at Barry arrive and depart an hour later.
The bell times are based on student geography rather than by grade level.
The new bell system would have high school, middle school and Barry School students starting school at 7:30 with all elementary schools starting an hour later.
Making the change would help solve or at least alleviate some pressing issues currently attached to the current system.
Arrival and departure time was jokingly described by Superintendent Dr. Mike Reik as “a minor miracle twice a day.”
Each day at the north campus, more than 30 buses are needed to transport students, leaving little room in the parking lot. Add parents’ vehicles picking up and dropping off students, combined with student drivers, and the result is congestion and a potential for accidents.
Reik said on Tuesday that the process is actually not a miracle but one that works because of the work of his staff. Furthermore, Gardner said there is no relief for congestion on either Hwy. 92 or 87th Street.
Reik met with transportation staff on Tuesday and more meetings are planned with other employees throughout this week. He said all the response he has received so far has been positive concerning the change.
“We orchestrate a successful arrival and dismissal on a daily basis but it can be safer,” Reik said. “They see it everyday. They're out there dealing with the congestion.”
Another issue is the time some students are on a bus and grades K-12 all ride on the same bus. Nine buses pull in front of Siegrist Elementary School every day but only two buses directly leave campus to take students home. Seven of the buses then go to the middle school and high school to be transferred to another bus.
“They've already been on the bus nearly 40 minutes and they really haven't gotten anywhere,” Gardner said. “We're talking about five and six year olds at this point.”
Currently, in addition to the 30 bus routes at the north campus, the south campus has 12 bus routes.
The move will allow the district to split into two sets of 21 routes, cutting the need of a minimum of 30 busses.
Reik said the district will still have the same number of routes but spread out more evenly.
“We're not talking about jobs here, we're talking about capital,” Reik said.
He went on to say that the move will actually ensure job security for transportation staff.
Gardner said the move would also eliminate the need for some students and coaches who have to leave class up to an hour and a half early to attend athletic events.
“We don't think that's sound educational practice,” Gardner said. “We want to improve that situation.”
Board member Jeana Houlahan said the move could actually increase ridership on the buses, which would clear up some of the car traffic at the campus.
Board member Mary Temperelli said she supports more restrictions on student drivers.
“I would not be opposed to somehow making it less attractive to high schoolers to drive,” she said. “I think if we made more restrictions on high schoolers, more would ride the bus. I think it would be safer and it would solve some traffic problems up here. That may not be popular but…”
Gardner addressed some of the potential issues that may arise from the change, although he said he believed most parents would welcome the change. He said some parents may have issues with child care, however, he believes the district's day care program at all elementary schools should relieve that concern.
“There's room, we've staffed it, and we've thought of this as being a viable option to parents,” he said. “Many use it now and it's very successful.”
Gardner also said some parents just simply don't like change.
“We also realize that change in general is difficult for some people to understand the reasons and rationale,” he said. “Comfort shouldn't stand in the way of progress. Just because it's what we know and we've done for a very long time doesn't necessarily make it the right way to do businesses.”
Reik agreed and said the easy thing would be to do nothing.
“We all grow accustomed to things,” he said. “It would be much easier for us to not change anything. But it would be inefficient and potential unsafe and a growing concern. Doing what's right is not always what's easiest.”
Reik also said with a down economy and further budget cuts from the state and federal level likely, now is a good time to become fiscally responsible. He said when good times return the district will be in a position to put dollars where they belong.
“But in confronting that challenge we will have to be as efficient as possible because any money that we are supplementing transportation with out of our operating budget would come from other areas that impact our classrooms,” he said. “It will allow us to channel dollars to where we know it matters the most and that's in the classroom.”
Reik said he hopes to have the board act on the plan next month.
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