Oregon bill would pay staff to walk kids to school
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With the national shortage of school bus drivers hitting locally, a bill in the Oregon Legislature would reimburse school districts for the cost of staff members being paid to walk kids to school.
Why it matters: Portland is built around a system of neighborhood schools, but in some neighborhoods elementary school students who walk or bike alone have to navigate busy streets without safe crossings.
Context: Schools are required to provide safe transportation — right now, a bus — to elementary school students who live more than a mile from school.
- A dedicated state fund reimburses school districts at least 70% of that cost.
Details: The new bill would allow districts to get state reimbursement not only for school bus service, but also for supervised student groups walking or biking to school, or a crossing guard on busy streets.
- Co-sponsor Rep. Hoa Nguyen (D-East Portland) organized such groups when she worked as a school attendance coach for Portland Public Schools. She said it improved attendance and reduced disruptive behavior in class.
- "They were able to get out all their wiggles and jitters on the morning walk to school," she told the House education committee.
Yes but: The bill's main opponent, the Oregon School Employees Association, which represents bus drivers, says the bill won't solve the main problem that triggered it — a shortage of school bus drivers.
- The association negotiated an amendment that would allow only school staff — not contractors — to help kids walk to school, and require that any safety problems be tracked, Susan Allen, a lobbyist for OSEA, tells Axios.
- "It is well documented that the safest way to get kids to school is school buses, yellow school buses," Allen said.
Zoom in: Beyth Greenetz walks her two children to Marysville School in SE Portland. Their four-block journey includes crossing 82nd Avenue, a busy commercial street that was still designated as a state highway until last year.
- "A lot of kids walk to school without an adult. Even across 82nd. As young as kindergarten," Greenetz tells Axios.
- She and other parents discussed creating a volunteer chaperone system, but in talks with school officials they realized it would be hard to ensure consistency. "You present a risk when you start telling families that there will be this thing that doesn't come through every single day," Greenetz says.
Separately, a weekly "bike bus" in Alameda, led by a PE teacher, has gotten national attention. And in a pilot program, the advocacy group Oregon Walks has been paying a staffer to supervise a busy street crossing near Vestal Elementary.
Of note: Many elementary schools have student crossing guards who stop traffic with bright neon flags.
- They are typically on the quiet neighborhood streets adjacent to schools, not busy thoroughfares.
What's next: The House revenue committee is expected to approve the amended bill in a work session today. Even supporters aren't sure it will pass, given the lack of a quorum in the Senate.
- Oregon Walks executive director Zachary Lauritzen tells Axios he hopes the work in this session has laid enough of a foundation for it to pass in the future.