New bus policy to affect hundreds of students

By LPR Staff
Editor/POST-REGISTER

The rising cost of gas will cause the Lockhart Independent School District to start adhering to a policy that has gone ignored for years when classes begin on Aug. 25.
According to Cliff Gardner, the district’s Superintendent for Maintenance and Operations, the district has a “two mile” rule stating that students w

ho live within two miles of their school campus are not eligible to ride the bus. In recent years, this policy has not been enforced, but the attitude of non-enforcement will change this year.
“With the rising cost in fuel prices, we are seeing more eligible students requesting transportation to and from school,” Gardner told the LISD Board of Trustees on Monday evening. “Because of these additional requests, we no longer anticipate the availability of seats for those students living within the two-mile radius.”
Gardner said that to continue providing bus service to students within the two-mile radius, the district would have to add extra bus routes, at a potential cost of up to $10,000. He noted students that have to cross a major thoroughfare to reach their school will still be eligible for bus service, but estimated that up to 200 students may be impacted if the district starts enforcing the policy in place.
A consensus of trustees asked Garnder to evaluate the budget to determine whether the funds were available elsewhere in the budget to provide the service. However, parents are urged to consider alternatives to the bus service they may have used in the past, if they live within the two-mile radius.
In preparation for the coming year, the Trustees also made an initial review of the district’s student handbooks. The board was asked to review the proposed handbooks fully and forward any questions or concerns to Interim Superintendent Jack Cockrill by Friday, Aug. 1.
In brief news, the board considered several personnel measures, including the addition of a Family Consumer Science Teacher at the Lockhart High School Freshman Campus, and the employment of a variety of teachers, administrators, paraprofessionals and custodial staffers.
Trustees asked administration to move forward on gathering information from the City of Lockhart and Time Warner Cable in an effort to televise future board meetings. A final decision will be made on the proposal after the board is aware of the logistics, including the cost of the broadcast and the computer equipment needed to make them possible.
They also honored members of the district’s Finance Department for their recent receipt of a Certificate of Achievement from the Government Finance Officers’ Association for Excellence in Financial Reporting.
The LISD Board of Trustees meets on the fourth Monday of each month at 6:30 p.m. in the Conference Center (old library) of Lockhart High School. The meetings are open to the public and citizens, taxpayers, students and parents are welcome and encouraged to attend.