August 14, 2009
| Contact: |
|
Kathryn Reith, Director of Communications |
| |
|
(425) 702-3342
kreith@lwsd.org |
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Redmond, Wash. – Last spring, Lake Washington School District searched for ways to trim the budget without laying off teachers as a result of cuts in state funding. One area targeted for cuts was transportation. Over the summer, the transportation department examined every school bus route and every stop to find ways to make their operation more efficient.
The result? There will be just 1000 stops instead of 1,500 and as a result, more students will walk farther to take the bus. Some buses will stop less frequently on the same routes. Other buses may pick up students at the entrance to a subdivision rather than making several stops inside the subdivision. Buses will drive shorter distances, have less idling time and will have to start and stop less frequently, all adding up to less fuel consumed and more money saved. The district expects these changes to save about $200,000. A byproduct of less gas consumption is fewer greenhouse gas emissions from the transportation operation.
“We recognize that this change will be inconvenient,” noted Deputy Superintendent Janene Fogard. “But the alternative of laying off teachers and increasing class size is just not acceptable to our community or to us.”
Parents of students who qualify for bus transportation have been notified by letter that bus routes are changing. Postcards for each student with their assigned stop are being mailed to parents. In addition, the new bus routes have been posted on the district's web site.
“I encourage parents to check the information on their student’s stop carefully,” said Jeff Miles, transportation director. “We want to make sure that every student knows where to catch the bus on the first day of school.”
Parents who have questions about their student’s stop after receiving the postcard can reach the transportation department at 425-882-5120.
####
About Lake Washington: Lake Washington School District is a high-performing public school district serving Kirkland, Redmond and Sammamish, Washington. It is the sixth largest district in the state of Washington, with over 23,000 students in 50 schools.