On June 17, bus cuts to CFISD were announced, leaving students that live within a 2- mile radius of their respective school without a confirmed ride to campus.
The bus reductions were deemed necessary by district officials as a way to help cover the $138 million worth of budget cuts needed. These cuts were brought into action because the state hasn’t increased per-student funding in five years, along with the fact that Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief funds from the pandemic ran out in June, despite the district’s obvious need for increased funds.
It was irresponsible of the district to take cuts to the buses of all things, seeing as that is the only mode of transportation for many students. The cuts didn’t consider students who don’t yet have a license or parents who have little- to- no time to pick them up. With school getting out as early as it does, many parents are having to make serious changes to their schedules just so their kids don’t have to walk the 2 or more miles home.
Many students have taken issue with the budget cuts because they feel many factors weren’t considered before the decision was made. Although I currently have a bus, it’s facing overcrowding to the point where at the beginning of the year, there were kids sitting in the middle of the aisle as a result of lack of open bus seats.
Sophomore Zoey Masten lost bus services this year, which quickly became an issue because her mother is legally blind and can’t drive her to school.
“I have to get a ride from my neighbor because my parents can’t drive me. It really sucks because my neighbors have three kids who go to all different schools, so it takes forever,” Masten said.
Masten, and many other students her age, takes issue with the cuts because of how it has affected them. From cases like Masten’s with parents who can’t drive her, to cases of athletes who have no way to get home after practice because of the complete disappearance in late buses. Many students find it to be very unfair.
“I have a lot of stuff after school sometimes and my parents can’t pick me up. I have to walk home when it’s super hot outside because we don’t have late buses anymore. Even though I live within a 2-mile radius of the school, it’s still a really long walk, especially since I’m carrying a lot of stuff,” Masten said.
It’s even worse for the students who don’t even have a neighbor to drive them because they’re stuck walking to school next to roads with no sidewalks. For high and middle schoolers, school starts quite early, meaning there are students walking next to busy roads in the dark.
As we near the colder months, some parents have expressed worry surrounding having their kids walking to school when they’re unable to take them themselves. Students walking in the cold versus the heat both pose different risks, but the cold has the unique danger of iced roads. Considering 13% of car crashes happen on icy roads, it makes for dangerous possibilities. Concerns have especially been heightened after three CFISD students were hit by cars while walking to school earlier this semester.
Some blame the budgeting and bus issues on Governor Greg Abbott for refusing to increase public school funding until an educational proposal of his own is approved. Abbott proposed a voucher program in 2023 that would allow parents to use money they had previously used on public school taxes to pay for private school. His proposal included an increased $6 billion of funding for Texas public schools and the elimination of the STAAR testing, but it was opposed by multiple groups.
Abbott addressed this in an interview with Steven Dial. “So, because we have found some administrators will not take the money that we gave to them to increase teacher pay and that we use it on other priorities. And so we said, well, we’re going to take charge of this, and we’re going to make sure this goes to teacher pay raises,” Abbott said.
This does, however, raise questions about how serious Abbott is about raising teacher salaries if he’s only willing to do so under the pretense of getting his vouchers approved. He has stated that he will only consider increasing Texas teacher’s salaries if his voucher bill passes, which paints a very unclear picture of the future of teachers’ salaries.
He has framed this entire thing as being for the benefit of Texas parents and children alike, but the lack of funding in public schools is proving to be the exact opposite. Since this has stirred up a bit of a controversy, it’s hard to know if this is the end of all students having the buses in the long term, seeing as there’s plenty of pushback from students, parents, teachers and politicians alike.
With all of the issues that the buses are causing, the district needs to come to an agreement with the community surrounding the budget cuts.
