ROANOKE, Va. – Some parents and students are at ease now that the school board has voted against school start time changes for the upcoming semester.
10 News has continued to follow Roanoke City School’s work to address transportation issues. On Dec. 8, 10 News reported on the work session that was held to discuss recommendations.
At Tuesday night’s school board meeting, those recommendations were up for a vote.
Prior to the vote, over 15 people spoke in opposition to the recommendation of moving to a three-bell system. Speakers included parents, students, teachers, and RCPS staff.
“Honestly if you guys are in favor of doing it, it’s on you too. I am not going to allow my kids to get the short end of the stick because Durham has an inability to get our kids to school on time,” said RCPS parent Sarah Jones.
Emily Scott, an Instructional Assistant at Hurt Park Elementary School, said this is something impacting everyone involved in the system.
“I strongly oppose this plan, not because it is stressful or inconvenient. I oppose it because it is going to create hardships for our staff, family, and students,” Scott said.
Ultimately, it was Vice Chairman Joyce Watkins who motioned for the recommendation to not be enforced for the rest of the school year.
“We suspend that recommendation, discussion, and voting, for this school year,” Watkins said.
All of the other recommendations were approved. Some of them included using either RCPS staff or perhaps an outside business to help with some of the vacancies and routes.
Board member, Franny Apel, appreciated the work the Transportation Work Group had made to come up with these recommendations. She also said the issue can be fixed sooner rather than later.
“We are one is about investing in the families too. So we want to make sure our families’ needs are being met and things like that too. So I really think that we can come up with solutions for even the next semester to get kids to school,” Apel said.
The relationship between RCPS and Durham School Services remains fragile. The district has dealt with transportation issues since the two partnered up back in 2019.
However, the contract still remains and the school board is looking at possible options come February.