SAN ANTONIO – While Northside Independent School District (NISD) students are officially on summer break, the district is rolling out a new bus route system ahead of the next school year.
District officials said the move will help manage the $35 million budget deficit and improve efficiency as they search for ways to cut costs.
So just because your child is eligible to be picked up and dropped off by the bus doesn’t mean they will. In previous years, bus stops were created for students living outside a two-mile radius from campus. However, moving forward, parents will need to pre-register their children, so a bus stop can be created in their neighborhood.
“We want to make sure that we are going to stops that have students in them,” stated NISD’s Director of Transportation Tesilia Soliz.
Soliz says last school year, more than 35,000 students used the school bus to get to and from school. But often, bus drivers would make stops with no kids in sight.
KSAT asked NISD bus driver Mirna Cortez if she picks up a child at every stop. “Not all the time,” Cortez answered.
Near Culebra Road and Loop 410, Shecaniah Gray walks her daughter Nova to her bus stop daily. She didn’t know that she needed to pre-enroll for next year’s transportation, but says that she will so her daughter can use the bus again in August.
“I feel like there’s a lot of parents working, and they can’t really take their kids to school, so the bus is their easiest route to get them to school,” Gray shared.
Another parent who says she’s already enrolled told KSAT off-camera that she hopes the new system helps the district by not wasting any unnecessary gas.
But the district says it’s too soon to say how much money they will save. KSAT also asked the district about what other measures they will take to cut expenses next school year.
The district declined to interview, saying the school board is still working on it. But sent a statement reading in part:
“The district is committed to a transparent, thoughtful process that minimizes the impact on the classroom and ensures the long-term financial health of northside.”
New or returning families will need to register by June 30. If you miss the deadline, the district says it’ll take one to two weeks after the first day of school for a stop to be created.
To register, click here.
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