Dist. 220 to change bus stops for sake of efficiency

Some students may have to walk farther to their bus stops when classes resume next month as part of an effort to make routes more efficient throughout the 72-square-mile Barrington Area Unit School District 220 boundaries.

Superintendent Brian Harris said the change will affect primarily students who live in the more rural areas in the district.

The specifics of the new policy will be worked out by district employees in the coming weeks, but one parameter staff members said they will stick to is that elementary school students will never walk more than fourth-tenths of a mile and middle and high school students will never walk more than seven-tenths of a mile to get to their bus stop. In addition, the staff will ensure students aren't being made to walk along unsafe roads, officials say.

“We're not going to have a kindergarten child walk down the rural part of Lake-Cook Road or anything like that,” Tim Neubauer, the assistant superintendent for business services, said during a presentation to the District 220 board Tuesday night.

“We will not compromise student safety,” Harris added. “Student safety is the most important priority here.”

The policy change will likely put an end to bus drivers stopping directly in front of a student's house, which Neubauer said happens on some routes. He said that now allowed by the old policy either, but the district will enforce the new policy more strictly.

The bus policy changes are not directly related to the school board's ongoing discussion on start times. The board has set a Nov. 1 deadline to decide whether to change when the school day starts throughout the district to improve student performance and health. Any changes wouldn't be implemented until the 2017-18 school year.

Harris said the district will communicate any new bus routes or stops with students and their parents before the school year starts Aug. 22.