Dist. 15 keeps its bus schedule

After more than six months

of debate, studies and public discussions, officials at Palatine Elementary District 15 have decided to stick with its two-tier busing plan.

The school board has been discussing whether or not to switch to a three-tier system, which would have eliminated the 7:55 a.m. or 8:45 a.m. start times at the schools and changed them to 7:30, 8:15 or 8:55 a.m.

At a meeting Wednesday night, elected officials voted 6-1 to keep a two-tier system running for the next school year.

Board member Kelly Keenan voted against the plan, saying she's not in favor of the two-tier approach.

"This has been a very disappointing two years for busing," she said.

This was the first school year with the two start times, which whittled the previous four-tier bus system to two tiers.

Since the beginning of this year, parents have complained of long bus routes and their children getting to school late.

District 15 operates its own bus fleet, one of the largest district-owned fleets in the state. There are more than 10,000 students transported daily, including students at area parochial schools.

"We decided it would be better to stay where we were and try to make improvements," said Superintendent Robert McKanna. "We realized that the three-tier plan wasn't going to work."

In Sept. 2007, the school board voted to spend $25,000 to hire an outside school bus consulting firm to study routes in the district.

2008-09 bus schedule

Tier 1

7:40 a.m. to 2:10 p.m.

St. Theresa/Immanuel Lutheran

St. Collette

St. Thomas

7:55 a.m. to 2:25 p.m.

Jane Addams

Thomas Jefferson

Stuart R. Paddock

Willow Bend

Winston Elementary

Winston Campus Jr. High

Plum Grove Jr. High

Carl Sandburg Jr. High

Sundling Jr. High

Tier 2

8:40 a.m. to 3:10 p.m.

Virginia Lake

Marion Jordan

8:50 a.m. to 3:20 p.m.

Central Road

Kimball Hill

Hunting Ridge

Lake Louise

Lincoln School

Pleasant Hill

Gray M. Sanborn

Frank C. Whiteley

9:05 a.m. to 3:35 p.m.

Conyers Learning Academy