Dist. 15 hears pros, cons of new bus schedule

Adopting a three-tier bus schedule could save Palatine Township Elementary School District 15 $500,000 annually, but it could also throw a wrench in after-school programming and severely alter some students' lunch schedules.

District 15 Superintendent Scott Thompson and Chief School Business Official Mike Adamczyk on Wednesday presented findings on switching from a two-tiered to three-tiered bus schedule to the board.

"It's premature to make a recommendation on the schedule at this point until the Facilities Plan Committee finishes," Adamczyk said. "Once that's done we'll revisit it and bring it back to the board."

The savings would come from needing fewer buses, mechanics, drivers and aides as students' pickup and drop-off times would be staggered.

Adamczyk says a more staggered schedule would clear up congestion at Winston Campus, home to both a middle school and an elementary school, and allow some students more time to sleep in.

But for students on the Tier 1 schedule, a change could mean waiting for the bus while it is still dark in the morning and eating lunch at 10:30 a.m. Tier 3 students would arrive home from school after it gets dark in the winter and would likely have a 2 p.m. lunch time.

Earlier start times would also mean before-school activities like band and orchestra could start as early as 6:45 a.m., and after-school programs would be "negatively impacted."

Additionally, the three-tiered schedule would mean less flexibility for bus drivers to provide transportation for field trips.

While the information presented Wednesday is preliminary, the staff recommenders the district's Facilities Plan Committee consider the new schedule after completing its work and surveying parents and community members.

"We'll get feedback from the parents and the community before we move forward," Thompson said.

He added that the process of implementing a new bus schedule takes too long for any changes to take place by the 2016-17 school year.