The board of Carpentersville-based Community Unit School District 300 demanded that the transportation department redraw afternoon bus routes to get parochial-school students home in less than an hour, even if that means reassigning some of the buses being used for public-school sports activities.
Board members rejected a department recommendation for “a shuttle-plus-one program” in which a bus would be added to each of the five parochial schools in the district, providing a direct ride home.
The afternoon system in place has upset parents of parochial-school students, who take a shuttle bus to the public middle school in their neighborhood and ride home with the middle-school pupils. Because of different dismissal times, the parochial-school students spend about 40 minutes waiting, and some parochial school pupils do not get home until about 5 p.m.
The Board of Education learned Monday night that a District 300 bus had taken Jacobs High School’s cross-country team to Veteran Acres Park in Crystal Lake after school. The team was training in the park.
Board member Mary Fioretti told administrators that their priorities were misplaced, that their primary mission should be getting every student home on time before transporting athletic teams to events.
The board told Assistant Supt. David Scarpino to come up with ways to reduce the amount of time parochial students spend on the bus. That could mean cutting into the $434,000 the school district was saving by hiring a company to oversee the bus service. Members suggested leasing more buses. The board told Scarpino to have options available by the next board meeting Oct. 12.
