Officials said these volunteers will not replace CFISD staff members assigned as crossing guards at campus entrances.
The backstory
Due to budgetary constraints, CFISD’s board approved a transportation services reduction plan June 17 to save about $4.78 million in the fiscal year 2024-25 budget.
While the district has offered bus services to all students for many years, elementary students within one mile of their campus and secondary students within two miles of their campus were not eligible for bus service this school year.
The recommendation originated from the district’s budget reduction advisory committee, which met several times throughout the spring to brainstorm potential areas for budget cuts.
During an April 22 board meeting addressing budget reductions, officials said about 70% of students in the district were bus riders in 2023-24, and the proposed reduction plan would remove about 41,000 students from eligibility.
Trustees at the time expressed concerns about how this change could potentially affect student attendance, safety, traffic and longer car rider lines resulting in staff having to work later.
However, the board unanimously approved the 2024-25 budget in June, including the transportation cuts.
What they’re saying
After these changes were communicated to parents over the summer, board members acknowledged and responded to community concerns at their Aug. 12 meeting.
Trustee Christine Kalmbach said she regretted voting on that portion of the budget. Trustee Natalie Blasingame apologized for the “failure” of the board and district leadership for not communicating the transportation changes sooner.
“I would say I challenge all of us to do better,” Blasingame said. “Safety is our No. 1 job so that we can do our main job, which is to teach your children—to make sure they can read and write and do math.”
Parents also expressed concerns about the changes Aug. 12, just a week before the start of the school year.
“We were given notice 18 days prior to the school start, which is completely unreasonable for parents to make responsible decisions on how to get their kids to school, and I’m greatly disheartened by that,” CFISD parent Jarred Hostetler said at the meeting. “You guys are the experts at mass transporting kids to school—not parents.”
Get involved
Volunteers from homeowners associations and municipal utility districts in the community can participate in a two-hour training to serve as a crossing guard. Registration is available here.
