District 308 Informs Parents of Bus Route Cuts

If you live within 1.5 miles of the District 308 school your child attends, you'll most likely be getting one of these postcards. And if there's a safe way for your child to walk to school, you won't be getting bus service next year.

The Oswego School District is facing a cut of about $700,000 in state transportation funding, based on a change in the formula lawmakers use to reimburse school districts. In past years, the district has bused some students who live within a 1.5-mile radius of the school, but by law, they're not obligated to do so.

The district has kept bus service running for those students due to construction and other issues that make those routes unsafe to walk. However, many of those issues have now been resolved, officials said, and the district is moving forward with eliminating bus service for those students. Crossing guards will be on duty and crosswalks in effect for walkers.

There are still some areas designated hazards, without safe routes for children to walk to school, even if they live within the 1.5-mile radius. Those areas will still receive bus service, according to Angie Smith, the district's director of business services.

A list of the areas which will not receive bus service is here.

Here is the text of the letter and voice message the district will send out to parents in the coming days:

"Due to recent school boundary changes and proposed reductions to school transportation funding by the state, District 308 has undergone a full evaluation of its transportation services. This evaluation has resulted in the elimination of bus service to some areas that currently receive busing. Students residing within 1.5 miles from their schools will be affected by this change.

Within the next week, affected families will receive a post card indicating that their address will not qualify for bus service for the 2012-13 school year. Please note that some families may receive more than one post card if they have students in multiple schools.

Please contact the transportation department at 630-636-2999 if you have questions after receiving the postcard.  

No changes will be made to the transportation of students in special programs or kindergartners attending a program not in their home schools. Students who qualify for busing will receive bus route information in August."

Attached you will find the design of the postcards district officials will mail out to affected homes. If your house is within 1.5 miles of a District 308 school, you'll get one, and you may get two, depending on where you live.

This story has been changed to clarify which students will not receive bus service.