Dist. 87 residents sound off on bus routes

A Carol Stream resident infuriated by Glenbard High School District 87 school board members told them they should resign if they are not going to help restore bus routes for students in the Newport Village neighborhood.

The area lies just within a 11/2-mile state limit that would require the district to provide transportation, school officials said last year.

Barbara Brooks, of the 700 block of Colorado Court, said students have been forced to walk a dangerous path since the district eliminated the more than 20-year-old routes last year, partially as a cost-saving measure.

"This board has continually ignored us and said it's OK for our children in hopes that they can just sweep this matter under the rug," Brooks said during the district's board meeting Monday. "You should step down in hopes that we can find new board members who truly care about our children. Shame on all of you."

Last year, the district implemented new software, VersaTrans, to map and measure its bus routes. Newport Village was one of several routes either changed or eliminated. The route zigzags through neighborhoods and includes a stretch of Munson Road that does not have sidewalks, as well as a traffic-heavy stretch of Kuhn Road. The route's elimination, according to school officials, saved the district $200,000. Residents say several websites they have checked list their homes' distances at more than 11/2 miles.

"They stand behind their software and we stand behind seven websites," said Sheila Kloet, who also lives on the 700 block of Colorado Court.

Parents approached the board last year about getting the route restored. The district looked into a mechanism on the state level that would reimburse the district if the walking route was deemed an extreme hazard. But the route fell short in an Illinois Department of Transportation point system used to assess the danger.

During talks about the routes last year, the new software came under fire and those concerns have not changed. Superintendent Michael Meissen personally measured the distances and said the measurements confirmed the software. Meissen added district officials would continue to talk to the village about installing sidewalks on the route.

Assistant Superintendent for Business Services Chris McClain said he sympathizes with the residents, but the move was made to align all schools' routes and that they had exhausted any options that they had at their disposal.

"I know they are disappointed but we have got to be fair to the process," he said.