MILWAUKEE — Milwaukee Public Schools tried to call in the National Guard to help with the school bus driver shortage it is facing. Now, they are considering paying parents to drive their kids to school.
During Tuesday night's meeting, the Milwaukee Public Schools budget committee voted to pass an amendment to pay parents, but no details were hammered out.
The amendment allocates $500,000 of federal relief funds for MPS to provide a transportation stipend to families.
3rd District Board Director Sequanna Taylor and 8th District Director Megan O'Halloran co-sponsored the amendment.
O'Halloran says the intent is for flexible spending. According to the amendment, that could mean gas mileage for personal vehicles or bus passes. Taylor says the money is to acknowledge families' struggles.
"So we hear you and our families and we want you to stay with the MPS," said Taylor. "And if this is a token to say, if some parents can't get their children to school, to give them some kind of stipend to say thank and thank you for wavering through with us."
Many MPS parents have already been driving their kids to school because they have given up on the bus.
“We tried for like the first two, three weeks and it was just rough to see your son sitting outside for 40 minutes, and you call the bus company and they are on the way. Suppose to be in school 15 minutes ago, so it is kind of crazy,” said Johntel Henderson, who drives his son to and from school.
Others are finding other ways to get their kids to class.
“Sometimes it is difficult to find her a ride,” said Angie Rivera, who’s daughter now takes a Milwaukee County Transit System bus to school. “I have been planning for the city bus because it is a lot easier than the school bus.”
But Riverwest mom Kyla Lahaie needs the bus for her son to get to school.
“I can’t drive. I’m actually legally blind. The only real option for me is for him to take an Uber,” said Lahaie.
She says the bus is usually consistent. Just consistently late.
“It hasn’t been horrible up to this point. He is late for school most mornings because his bus picks him up late,” said Lahaie.
But on Monday, the bus didn’t come at all. It leaves people like Lahaie in a bind. Milwaukee School Board of Directors president Bob Peterson says he knows it is bad. It is so bad he tried to get the National Guard called in.
“We asked, that is, the government to send the National Guard in, and we had the support of the mayor and other people in Milwaukee. But the legal document that gave him advice from the Wisconsin Legislative Council stated that it was very likely that he lacks the authority to declare a new state of emergency, based on the previous court decision,” said Peterson.
Currently, MPS says it is down 50 drivers. The district says anywhere from 400 to 2,000 students are affected each day. Now, the board is proposing paying parents.
“One of the options is to pay parents to transport their children to school. It's complicated in terms of the number of issues, but we're working on that and hope to have that in place very soon,” said Peterson.
The plan being proposed in the MPS budget would cost $500,000 and would be paid for with COVID-19 funds. However, Peterson says the details of the plan are still being worked out.
Across the country, similar programs are already in place, at Baltimore City Public Schools in Maryland, EastSide Charter School in Wilmington, Delaware and schools in Camden, New Jersey.
Many students rely on a bus to get to school. According to the Bureau of Transportation, 50 percent of students in the country take the bus and 70 percent of students from low-income families take the bus school.
For Lahaie, she just wants her son to get to school on time.
“It's really stressful for him. He’s a really good student who really cares about going to school and learning, and being late to school every day is stressful. Walking into class in the middle of class is interruptive and he doesn’t like that feeling,” said Lahaie.
The school board will take up the issue of potentially paying parents to drive their students in a budget committee meeting Tuesday night. You can watch ithere, starting at 6:30 p.m.
