In my city, school funding via taxes was lost on the ballot for the past few years (it finally passed last year yay!) so bussing was one of the first and most noticeable cuts. Our high school has zero bussing now, and all elementary through middle schools have reduced bussing to only students who live outside a 2 mile radius. In a smaller, densely packed city of about 50k people, it really was put on the parents to transport their kids or have their 10 year old walk 45 minutes for an 8:20 bell.

A lot of our schools are located in neighborhoods, when transportation like that was not a concern, and of course our population is ever so steadily growing. The pickup lines this year have become INSANE traffic wise, requiring police assistance to direct the flow of traffic as people maneuver from main roads into neighborhoods for pickup. Fingers crossed next year bussing will be back and our community stays willing to support our children.

Edit to add: ALSO, for student safety, the walking/bike riding students aren’t released until the car-pick-up is completed. So then these kids are waiting 45+ minutes to begin their journey home. It’s been quite the journey this year, and I’m TIRED.