Kaneland school board decides against new bus policy

The Kaneland School Board held off on a policy this week that would eliminate allowing students to ride buses home with friends.

The policy came out of concerns for student safety plus the work created for an office staff that has to go through all the students' permission notes, said Julie-Ann Fuchs, the district's assistant business official.

Board president Lisa Wiet said such a policy would be easier if Kaneland was smaller, but its size presented challenges for parents.

"Inevitably, your child is friends with the child who's the furthest away," Wiet said. "I don't think we need to transport a whole birthday party, but there needs to be a happy medium."

For a student to ride home on a bus with a friend, both have to bring a note from home, which are then signed by a member of the office staff. The children then bring the signed note to the bus driver.

On Fridays, the middle and high school secretaries have 15 to 20 pairs of students to check notes for, Fuchs said. And if one student forgets theirs, secretaries need to track down the parents.

The district needs to be able to know where students are in case of a bus accident, Fuchs said.

"The problem is lots and lots of kids go to different houses on different days," Fuchs said. "It's hard to keep track."

The new policy would not have affected "ongoing" bus changes, like when a child rides a different bus to go to Scouts or day care the same days each week, Fuchs said.

Administrators said they would look into other options, including a longer notice time for parents to request their student ride a different bus.