After-school program transportation vanishes in Lee County

Lee County will not take your kids to their after-school programs in the upcoming school year. Lee County parents are finding out their kids will no longer be bussed to off-campus locations, and neither they nor their kids are not happy about it.

A district spokesperson told WINK News during the open enrollment period for the new proximity zones for the upcoming school year, and parents were notified that transportation to after-school programs was no longer guaranteed.

Meeting Claire Leger, her passion for her dancing program quickly becomes apparent.

“Some days are hip-hop, some days are jazz, some days are ballet. And it’s so much fun,” said Leger.

It’s an after-school program she’s been involved with for years, but this year she may not be able to do the things she loves.

“If I don’t go there anymore, I’d probably feel really sad,” said Leger.

That’s because this school year, the Lee County School District will be following School Board Policy 7.02, which means transportation won’t be making any stops at after-care facilities.

“Not all parents have the flexibility to pick and choose where their kids go or they don’t have flexibility with their job, said Ashley Leger, Claire’s mother. “Had they considered that?… The negative impacts?”

Ashley wants to know why the district’s buses can’t drop her daughter off at the after-school dance program, like they’ve done for years.

The district pointed to the number of bus drivers they have on hand and explained that 3,000 kids were late when they were getting dropped off at school and home every day.

“Providing transportation to a place where you know the children are safe and cared for is better than dropping them off at a possibly empty home. Parents don’t have a choice. They have to work,” said Ashley.

It’s a challenge for parents and kids but it’s also a challenge for the after-school programs who have worked with these kids for years, like at World Championship Taekwondo in Fort Myers.

“I like to think that, you know, we have a hand in helping build them up and building that confidence and that self-discipline of a routine and being prideful in who they are. And it is kind of frustrating, a little de-motivating to see that they are not going to have that opportunity this year,” said Nikki Oliver, a master at the World Championship Taekwondo.

“I think it was done for a reason, but I hope I could still do dance,” Claire Leger said.

The district said parents can utilize the after-school programs at the schools, but Claire’s mother said those programs fill up quickly, and cost just about as much as the dance program while not offering the things she’s looking for with regards to activity and exercise.

The district said there are some exceptions that could possibly connect some students to after-school programs near established routes.

The below statement was provided to WINK News by a Lee County school district spokesperson.

Recall that earlier this year we implemented new and smaller proximity zones for assignment to our elementary schools.  During the Open Enrollment period we were clear that transportation to a day care, whether in or out of the new zone, was not guaranteed and parents needed to choose a school with that knowledge.

One of the main reasons for the proximity zones was we were delivering 3,000 students late to school every day, and late again on the way home, because the number of routes required was greater than the number of drivers available.  It was a problem that was only going to get worse if we did not address it.

This coming school year, transportation will follow board policy 7.02 and not route stops to any after care facility. However, there is a possibility that an established stop on an established route may be near a daycare. In this case, students, in theory, could ride that bus to the after-school program if the four conditions listed below in Board Policy were met:

7.02 (3) Parent/guardian requests for students to ride a bus other than the one serving their place of residence must be submitted to their assigned school and may be approved under the following conditions:

(a) The request is for a permanent, everyday basis.

(b) There is an established route and stop in existence that shall fulfill the request.

(c) The parent/guardian understands that requests shall be granted on a space available basis and permission may be revoked at a later date.

(d) Requests for this alternate school transportation must be submitted in writing to the principal for approval.

The policy also covers students who live within 2 miles of school and don’t qualify for a bus.

7.02 (4) Students who live within the designated walking area of their assigned school are eligible for school transportation to an after school day care provider, if the provider is located on a regularly scheduled route from that school, an existing stop can be used, and under the same conditions as specified in (3) above.

We were also clear during the enrollment period that we would work to establish before and after school care at all of our elementary schools.  We have done so and parents need to contact their child’s school about that option.