JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — On day one, Duval County Public Schools navigated at least 160 bus route changes, some of which resulted in delays.
According to the district’s transportation page, there were 74 changes for pick-up and 70 changes for drop-off off Monday. While some routes were still on time despite changes, several were delayed by up to as much as two hours.
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“Getting students to school on time is a very important issue,” DCPS Superintendent Dr. Christopher Bernier said Monday.
Part of the solution this year is changing the distance for students eligible for transportation to at least two miles from the school and increasing the distance from bus stops to students’ homes. The policy change impacted about 1,100 students and saved the district about $500,000.
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“To improve that on-time efficiency. The bottom line is students have to be at school on time. In order to do that, we had to find some efficiencies in distance and stops,” Bernier said.
The change is still within state law, and the district can submit a “hazardous walking conditions” designation to the state to get additional funding to solve the problem, however, Bernier said the bar is high.
“Most stops in walkable areas — even if they don’t have a sidewalk, don’t qualify. So we really have to look at how we can help,” Bernier said.
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