This summer, Rockwood announced the elimination of the zero-hour morning buses and the after school activity buses for all of the district’s high schools. The removal of the buses is “due to reductions in state transportation funding,” according to Rockwood’s announcement on the district website.
On Thursday, June 17, the state legislature cut the district’s transportation funding by nearly $1 million (the state did not cut funding from the Voluntary Interdistrict Choice Corporation).
“Tax revenue had decreased substantially for all school districts,” Will Sloan, director of Purchasing and Transportation for Rockwood, said. “The state of Missouri doesn’t have enough funds to allocate for all the districts since there’s been a decrease in revenue from the income and property taxes due to the economy.”
When it came to deciding what to cut, district officials had to choose between “special services,” as Sloan calls them, and regular daily bus routes. Cutting the daily routes would have meant making the routes longer and the buses more crowded.
“We found that only a handful of students ride the zero hour bus and at certain times of the year there might be times when more kids are riding the activity bus, but those times are, overall, pretty sporadic,” Sloan said.
According to the official announcement on Rockwood’s website, the district also adopted “bus route changes, reducing the bus fleet, reducing fuel consumption, and consolidating existing routes.” All of the measures will save the district about $700,000.
Out of 22,000 students in the district, Sloan said he’s only received 20 emails regarding issues with bus changes. While there have been few complaints, some students are still upset with the cut.
“[The activity bus] was a big way that I got home,” Jessie Berger, sophomore, said. “My mom can’t pick me up every time I have to stay after. I may not be able to do after school activities now.”
Berger is an member of the Marquette Theatre Company (MTC) and works on the lights crew.
She had planned on helping with the lights for MTC’s upcoming shows.
“I was pretty angry,” Berger said. “I had a few choice words when I found out. I mean, sports still get buses. So then, why don’t the other activities get them too? They emphasize sports a lot here.”
Sloan recommends students find rides with other students staying after school.
“I’ll try to get a ride and carpool, but the buses shouldn’t have been cut in the first place,” Berger said. “Just because you live in the area doesn’t mean you have a way home.”
Sloan predicts the situation “is only going to get worse” and expects in the next few years that transportation funds for the district will continue to decrease.
In fact, Dr. Dan Ramsey, sophomore principal, confirmed more news.
“We will no longer provide bus transportation for students living within one mile of the school,” Dr. Ramsey said.
