Consider carpools, CMS suggests to families worried about new Express Stops program
A group of parents are worried about Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools’ roll out of an express bus service next year, saying it will force them to bear the brunt of the district’s fiscal shortfalls and driver shortages.
CMS Express Stops will cut down on ride times and early morning pick-ups for about 5,200 students enrolled in full and partial magnet schools beginning the 2023-24 school year. They’re being introduced, officials say, to help with the growing demand for transportation with the district’s increased number of magnet programs.
But parents such as Karen Flint, whose two children attend the Northwest School of the Arts, say Express Stops will damage magnet school diversity and force working and poorer families to pull their children out of the magnets.
“The irony is that magnet schools historically were created to ensure diverse learning environments in segregated communities, and now they are being targeted to fix the bus problem,” Flint said.
Express Stops will cut two-hour ride times for some students and costs for the school system, but at the expense of parents who have to figure out how to get their children to bus stops that will be 2 to 3 miles away from home.
CMS responded to some concerns by suggesting parents connect and carpool. The district also launched a survey to gather information from families so it can assess needs and possibly pick additional stops.
”One of the ways CMS is working to address that concern is by connecting parents with each other for carpooling solutions,” Adam Johnson, CMS’ executive director of transportation, told The Charlotte Observer this week. “Again, Express Stops will reduce travel times for buses serving magnet schools significantly.”
The plan, which involves 12 schools on 11 routes, will be finalized in late spring, well after the deadline to submit an application for CMS’ School Choice Lottery. The deadline to submit an application for the lottery is 10 p.m. Feb. 13, creating a difficult choice for parents who want to send their children to a magnet school but don’t know how to get them to the bus stop.
“CMS should really figure this out before the lottery closes,” Chrissy Premeaux wrote on the Facebook page “Save Our Stops” that has attracted nearly 200 members. “I am trying to make a choice for my kid next year. How can I make a choice if I don’t know the logistics of where I need to be and when? Should I just remove the option of any magnet from my choices for him because I cannot physically pick him up every day?”
Magnet schools are a choice, CMS says
Dozens of parents are worried about the distance to and from the new stops.
Flint says many of the stops are not within safe walking distance. Her children’s stop is 2.5 miles from her home along Eastway Drive.
“CMS is depending on kids to walk to such stops or for parents to drive students to and from them,” Flint said. “This creates major problems for parents with no cars or limited access to include our homeless population, and those parents who work during the day and depend on neighborhood stops.”
Jessica Schneebaum is a nurse practitioner who leaves for work at 7 a.m. three days a week. Her children, ages 12 and 16, attend J.T. Williams Montessori. Her schedule isn’t flexible, and when CMS implements Express Stops, she has no idea how her children will get to school.
“I have reached out in my neighborhood trying to find another family to carpool with, but I don’t work the same days each week so that will be very difficult to coordinate if I can find someone,” Schneebaum said.
Johnson says every student in CMS has access to transportation from their home school. Express Stops will not impact students who attend their home magnet or non-magnet schools.
“Magnet schools are a choice,” he said.
Similar program abandoned after criticism
During the 2015 school year, CMS created a similar program to Express Stops with shuttle stops. But a Magnet Schools of America review at the time showed the district needed to improve diversity among its magnet schools and found transportation access was limited in some areas, The Charlotte Observer reported. The report also found that the shuttle stops could discourage families from applying to magnets.
The district abandoned the plan and went back to neighborhood bus stops.
This time around, with 104 different magnet programs offered across CMS, a smaller operational budget and bus driver shortage, Johnson said the district explored alternatives to increase efficiencies and improve the student experience.
Transportation officials say countywide magnet programs are the biggest expense because they have to cover the district’s 546 square miles. A shortage of money from the county during the 2021-22 budget year also led to a $3.2 million cut to CMS’ transportation budget, which impacted magnet transportation. And as of December, there were 35 bus driver vacancies and 39 drivers on leave.
This school year, magnet school enrollment accounts for 21% of overall enrollment in the district and 20% of daily ridership. Express Stops will provide quicker service to school, reduce ride times and maximize resources, Johnson said.
”The plan in 2015 was largely successful as a cost-saving measure,” Johnson said.
Bus stops too far to walk
But for Frank Hruby and other parents, shorter ride times mean nothing if they can’t get their children to the bus stop.
Hruby’s son, Alexander, is looking at his options for a magnet high school. He’s an eighth-grader at Piedmont Middle School in Charlotte. Alexander passed his audition for theater at Northwest School of the Arts and also is considering the East Mecklenburg High IB magnet. He also has the option of attending Myers Park High School.
Frank Hruby says Alexander’s magnet options may have to be taken off the table because of Express Stops.
“Both my wife and I work, and the drop-off and especially the pickup in the afternoon, creates problems as we probably cannot leave work in mid-afternoon to pick him up,” Hruby said. “There are many parents in the same situation.”
This school year, Alexander’s bus stop is one block away from the family’s home in Plaza Midwood. If he attends a magnet for high school, the express stop would be Garinger High School — a couple of miles away from his home. Walking home is not an option, his father said.
“We are happy that there are magnet options, but the express bus situation can make the choices quite limiting,” Hruby said. “I certainly get the economics of school transportation – it’s expensive and money is a factor for CMS and hiring bus drivers is not easy.”
Melissa Buchanan, whose daughters attend the UNC Charlotte program, are facing the same dilemma.
Buchanan, who works in Fort Mill, lives in Cornelius. Next year, the family’s express stop will be Hough High School — 3 miles away from their home.
“I drive them to school every morning, but they ride the bus home in the afternoon,” Buchanan said. “This puts us in a terrible bind as obviously they cannot walk home 3 miles, and I would rarely be able to pick them up. With no transportation between the hub spot and home, we find ourselves in a pretty unfortunate situation: how do they continue in the program?”
CMS: No promises can be made
Parents who spoke with the Observer and others who have posted comments in the “Save Our Stops” Facebook group say they have attended engagement meetings. Many directly contacted the transportation department, which says the district will “work with families in extreme circumstances,” Schneebaum said.
Families who attend Northwest School of the Arts will feel the largest impact of express stops because an early bell schedule will be implemented. The current bell schedule is 9:15 a.m. to 4:15 p.m. Next year, the bell schedule will run from 7:15 a.m. to 3:15 p.m. According to a survey parents created, 29% of families will be able to get students to and from express stops.
“Transportation remains highly optimistic that everything will work out fine, and is telling us in public meetings that they will work with people individually,” Flint said. “Individuals who have reached out to transportation have essentially been told that no promises can be made … and that they hope parents can work something out.”
This story was originally published February 2, 2023 at 6:00 AM.
