CYPRESS, Texas — It's back to school for Cypress-Fairbanks ISD on Monday, and with all the excitement comes concerns over the district’s transportation plan for the school year. Transportation was one of your biggest concerns, according to our KHOU 11 back-to-school survey.
Some parents in the district reached out to KHOU 11 over the summer about these bus route cuts to the state’s third-largest district. We plan to follow up with those parents on the first day of school.
Last year, all students in the district had bus service. However, starting Monday, all elementary students less than a mile away and middle and high school students less than two miles away will not get bus service in Cy-Fair ISD.
Parents whose children attend Spillane Middle School told us it's not safe for their kids to walk to school.
This summer we had a crew drive the route along Jarvis Road near Barker-Cypress, which is on the way to Spillane Middle School and Cy-Woods High School.
Parents worry their kids crossing the intersection won’t be protected since there's no sidewalk on the other side.
We caught up with a parent Monday morning, who described first day of school traffic as busier than usual.
“The lines are really, really bad,” Heather Boone, a parent, said. “The question is is it also affecting the buses getting to school on time. They also have to sit in those car rider lines. They are all the way backed up.”
Some comments on Facebook from parents describe just how frustrating it’s been on day one.
One wrote my daughter has been sitting in traffic for 30 minutes. The kids will be late for their first day of school.
“I would love to know how many kids were late today, whether it’s because they did have bus or didn’t have a bus or their parent was sitting in a line,” Boone said.
As far as safety goes one parent shared a photo of gridlock traffic for miles after a car crash happened in front of Arnold Middle School on Telge.
A spokesperson for CFISD says the district will have paid trained crossing guards to help.
The district is also working with campuses to identify the safest walking path for students and where crossing guards should be placed leading up to the schools.
It's important to note that transportation will still be provided because of hazards, such as crossing a railroad track for elementary and middle school students or walking through a heavy traffic area without a safe path. There would also be transportation for high school students who would have to cross a tollway or highway.
The district says a severe budget deficit is why they had to eliminate 79 bus routes this new school year.