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District Seeks Aid For Student Walkers

Tribune file photo by JAY NOLAN (2007)

The district cut most of its courtesy busing last year for families living less than two miles from their school.

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By CHRISTIAN M. WADE

cwade@tampatrib.com

Published: February 16, 2009

TAMPA - Every year, the Hillsborough County School District sends Tampa, Plant City, Hillsborough County and the Florida Department of Transportation a laundry list of areas deemed hazardous for children who don't qualify for busing and have to walk to school.

The hazards include streets where there are no sidewalks, busy intersections and traffic-choked roads that school officials want the DOT and local governments to improve.

DOT, city and county officials review the lists and make improvements where they can, but said they simply can't afford to foot the bill for many of the requested upgrades.

As a result, most of the hazardous conditions go unresolved.

"It's not that we don't want to do it," said Don Rainard, Plant City's director of traffic engineering. "There's just no money in our budget for these kinds of upgrades."

Outside of upgrades, if the district can get local governments to acknowledge that the areas are hazardous, the Florida Department of Education will provide additional funds for busing students.

"Both entities must agree that the locations meet the state criteria for hazardous walking conditions to qualify for more funding," said education department spokeswoman Deborah Higgins.

Complicating the issue is liability. If the DOT acknowledges that roads under their jurisdiction are hazards, they might be held liable if a student is killed or injured on their way to school.

"We get the lists from the district every year and return them on the advice of our legal staff," said Kris Carson, a DOT spokeswoman. "We're not willing to accept liability."

Carson said that if there is a bonafide walking hazard on a state roadway, they will fix it.

"But we're not going to sign off on a list that we didn't create," she said.

Hillsborough schools spokeswoman Linda Cobbe said the district will continue to bus elementary school students who would otherwise have to walk where hazards exist, regardless of whether the DOT and local governments sign off on the lists.

"We understand their concerns about liabilities, but our responsibility is to make sure that children have a safe route to get to school," Cobbe said. "That's our primary goal."

For years, the Hillsborough County School District has offered busing for families who otherwise would not qualify for bus service. The state only provides funding for districts to transport students who live more than two miles from their schools, but elementary students living closer may qualify for busing if there are documented safety hazards.

The district cut most of its courtesy busing last year for families living less than two miles from their school, which has served an average of about 10,000 students in the past.

That means more kids walking to school.

This year, the district identified about two dozen locations in Tampa, about 60 locations across Hillsborough County and eight in Plant City that qualify under state guidelines as hazardous walking conditions, according to documents provided by district officials.

Hillsborough County officials said they have seen a significant increase in the amount of areas identified by the school district as hazardous, and just can't resolve all of them.

"We hope to address them at one point," said Chris Bridges, a county traffic engineer.

School board members said they understand the financial strains on local governments.

"We're all facing limited resources," board member Candy Olson said.

Still, some argue the state laws on hazardous walking conditions amount to an unfunded mandate that shoulders local governments with making costly roadway improvements.

"It's another example of government bureaucracy," said Dominic Calabro, executive director of Florida TaxWatch, a government watchdog. "In a perfect world, our kids would be able to walk to school on gold-lined streets. But that's just not reality."

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