SoDu We Like Local News Episode 5: On Board with Durham Schools' No-Bus Zones?

We’re about a week away from “family responsibility zones” going into effect for students living around 21 Durham Public Schools elementary schools – including Hope Valley, Southwest, Parkwood, and Pearsontown. Are you ready?

Hello again. I’m Wes Platt, neighborhood news guy for South Durham, and you’re listening to SoDu We Like Local News, a podcast about what’s happening right here in our backyard around Southpoint, Hope Valley, Parkwood, Fairfield, and more! It’s freely available to readers of Southpoint Access – your source for ultra-local news in SoDu.

Here’s a quick recap of what’s going on:

As this school year kicked off, DPS transportation staff discovered unexpected increased demand for school bus service – and that coincided with a shortage of bus drivers to carry students throughout the district. That led to a lot of late buses or, in some cases, no buses at all for students who didn’t have the resources to get to school.

In early December, the school district shifted to a rotational bus coverage system, which required families to arrange for their own school transportation at least one day a week.

Now, as rotational coverage winds down this week, the district is moving on to family responsibility zones at many elementary schools. The zones are pretty flexible from school to school, depending on available pedestrian infrastructure, but the bottom line is this: starting Jan. 21, families who are identified as living within these zones are – for the most part – going to have to fend for themselves when it comes to school transportation. Their children will have to walk, ride bicycles, or be driven in the family vehicle (or carpool).

For a parent like me, these no-bus zones aren’t a bother. Full disclosure, okay? I live well outside the zone for Hope Valley Elementary, but I drive my daughter to school every day because I *can*. I work from home. I work for Southpoint Access readers like you, but I set my own schedule. My situation is a huge exception to what most parents face. What about families with single working parents who can’t just wander in after drop-off or show up in the middle of the workday to pick up their child? What about families who don’t have a vehicle they can count on? For families that walk their children to school, they’ll have to deal with inclement weather – from rain to icy cold to summer heat. Are schools ready with crossing guards to keep these young pedestrians and their caregivers safe?

Hope Valley families can get answers to questions like this on the night of Tuesday, Jan. 14, when the school holds a town hall meeting about responsibility zones. It’s set to run from 6 to 7:30 p.m. in the media center.

The DPS Board of Education is set to meet next on Jan. 23. The district steered clear of express bus stops for secondary magnet schools like Rogers-Herr Middle School and Durham School of the Arts. It’ll be interesting to see what administrators learn about the responsibility zones, and how families are adjusting to them.

Thanks for listening to SoDu We Like Local News. I hope you’ll become a subscriber of our newsletter at soduwelikelocal.news. Every paid subscription helps support my work as your neighborhood news guy, keeping up with what’s going on in our schools, in city and county government, and new businesses and developments.

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Until next time, take care and stay curious.

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