NW Indiana school district halts bus services for elementary schools due to budget shortfalls

HAMMOND, Ind. — Declining enrollment and budget deficits are forcing difficult decisions to be made for a Hammond, Indiana elementary school district, with bus transportation for students being among the services on the chopping block less than a week before school is set to begin.

In an email shared with WGN News by parents with School City of Hammond (SCH) students, SCH officials circulated an update Thursday morning that let parents know there will be no bus transportation services for most general education students attending SCH elementary schools for the 2024-2025 school year.

The email update also stated, “As a result of the updated boundaries, most every elementary school student lives within the walk zone radius of 1.5 miles. You should make your own plans to get your child to and from school.”

“We’re just kind of stumbling around, trying to figure out what to do last minute,” said Leah Hurley, a Frank O’Bannon Elementary School parent.

Carlotta Blake-King, a trustee on the SCH Board of Trustees, said she is worried about safety for students who now no longer have transportation to school guaranteed to them.

“These kids were guaranteed busing. What happened to that?” Blake-King said. “What happened to that mindset?”

Blake-King also told WGN News the cuts were all a part of a corrective action plan put forward by Indiana State Legislators to maintain the district’s solvency.

“The redistricting was necessary because they closed three elementary schools,” Blake-King said.

Donna Petraits, a spokesperson for the SCH, told WGN News declining enrollment in the district forced consolidation, and a failed referendum to raise money for SCH last year only made matters worse.

“The district had to look at some very deep and very painful cuts,” Petriats said, pointing toward a $30 million budget deficit district administrators are trying to make up.

SCH officials said students living outside of the walk zone radius will be notified by US mail, that they are eligible for bus transportation services, and the SCH district said they plan to send postcard notifications to register eligible parents by next week in order to identify bus stop times and pickup locations for their designated home addresses.

“With the school times and work schedule, it’s complicated,” said Elesha Walters, another O’Bannon Elementary School parent.

SCH officials then went on to say general education elementary school bus routes will not be published on the SCH transportation website this year, to avoid confusion.

High school and middle school bus route boundaries remain unchanged, according to SCH officials, and the previously-mentioned changes also do not apply to special needs, McKinney-Vento, and foster care students who receive bus transportation services.

While parents like Hurley and Walters said they were just notified Thursday of the bus transportation changes, SCH officials said parents were notified districtwide of the changes on July 24.

The first day of school for the School City of Hammond is set for Monday, Aug. 12.

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