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News
Some students may be bused after all : News : Oswego Ledger-Sentinel : Hometown Newspaper for Oswego and Montgomery, IllinoisSome students may be bused after all
| Sidewalk, crosswalk work delayed in some areas of school district, board told
| by Lyle R. Rolfe
| 8/16/2012
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Students in some areas of the Oswego School District were previously notified they would be able to walk to school this year instead of being bused, but the installation of sidewalks and painted crosswalks in some areas of the district may be delayed, requiring the students to be bused, Superintendent Dr. Matthew Wendt told school board members Monday night.
The state requires that students living 1.5 miles or more from school be bused. Students living closer than 1.5 miles must be bused if their walking route is determined as hazardous according to state standards.
The school district's transportation department has been working with the City of Aurora to make it safe for students to walk to Wolf's Crossing Elementary School at 3015 Heggs Road, Aurora, and Bednarcik Junior High at 3025 Heggs Road, Aurora.
The district has been working with the city to remove the safety hazards with hopes affected students would be able to walk rather than use the bus when schools opens next Wednesday, Aug. 22.
A memo to the board from Dr. Paul O'Malley, assistant superintendent for finance, said sidewalks are being installed by the City of Aurora and were to be completed prior to the beginning of school.
Traffic studies also are or have been done in other areas where there are serious safety hazards for children walking to school so they could be corrected.
_The memo said the administration also was working with the Village of Oswego and the City of Aurora to have crosswalks painted where needed to help students safely cross busy streets. _
"I have discussed this issue with Steve Jones, the village administrator for the Village of Oswego, and he is working with our staff to support our needs. I would also add that Eric Gallt, the City of Aurora's traffic engineer, has been working tirelessly to support our transition at Wolf's Crossing and Bednarcik," O'Malley said in the memo.
Wendt said crosswalks have not yet been painted as agreed and studies have not been completed to determine whether speed limits in school areas should be decreased.
Until these improvements have been completed, Wendt said he feels it would be in the best interest of students living in these areas to be bused to school.
He said the district has been talking to parents in several neighborhoods about the situation.
He said parents and board members will be notified before school starts of which students will be bused.
"This could change by the Labor Day weekend. The reason is that we need time for experts to come in and help us," he said, adding that the district will hire an outside agency to help with making recommendations.
Wendt said they prefer to err on the safe side so the district will provide bus transportation for those students who need it whether for a short time or a year.
He could not tell at this time how many bus pick-ups may be restored by the time school starts, but he assured the board it will not be all of the ones that have been changed to walking routes. About 15 pickups originally were to be changed, he said.
"It could be four, five or six (bus pickups restored), depending on what we find," he said.
If the start of school were a few weeks later, all work could have done so students could be walking in these areas, he added.
"If you hear conversations that the administration is out measuring and re-looking at paths and intersections, it is so. I wanted the board to know that we are out conducting some comprehensive reviews. We have the state involved and we will file the appropriate paperwork.
"Reviewing safety hazards will be on-going during this school year as well as next school year," Wendt said.
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