Lake County students who lost their buses in the midst of budget cuts could be getting them back.
The school board member who led the charge to cut the buses, Bill Mathias, said since he voted to create parent responsibility zones he’s been working to fix the problem that was created.
The vote was taken in the summer of 2013 and Lake County faced laying off as many as 65 teachers to make up for a $15 million budget shortfall.
Instead, they cut busing for students who lived within two miles of schools. It's a vote Bill Mathias now regrets.
“At the time we were advised that the municipalities and counties that are really responsible for the two mile [zones] that they were ready, and they weren’t,” Mathias said.
Parents of some of the more than 4,000 elementary and middle school students who lost buses rallied, saying the district was putting their children in danger.
Mathias now thinks they have the votes to restore busing with support from new board members like Marc Dodd.
“I wouldn’t expect my own child to walk some of the roads that fall into the parent responsibility zone," Dodd said. "Since I can’t expect my kids to walk them, I have a hard time expecting that from other parents and their children.”
The School Board is now looking at both half mile and mile walking zones, and continuing to work with cities on improving sidewalks.
"The reality is two miles is just too far for an elementary student,” Mathias said.
Mathias said one price tag on the plan he’s been given was close to $400,000, but he said much work is left to be done before a vote.
The board has yet to set a date for a final vote on the buses. But one parent has already planned a march for when that happens.
He’s asking board members to walk the two miles from Tavares Middle School to their meeting before they vote, just to see how dangerous it is.