At its regular meeting last night (Thursday, Feb. 5), the Board of Education agreed to consider a proposal that would rely on the Regional Transportation District (RTD) system to transport high school students.

Under the plan, the district would provide eligible high school students with a bus pass to ride RTD. The district also would work with RTD to enhance bus service on any routes where existing service levels need to be expanded at certain times of the day.

The shift to RTD is being considered in order to allow high schools to move morning bell times from 7:30 a.m. to 9 a.m. Under the proposal, high schools would be able to provide a more flexible class schedule, including offering some classes before 9 a.m. so students with afternoon athletics or extra-curricular activities would not miss those opportunities.

Wayne Eckerling, Assistant Superintendent for Research, Planning and Special Projects, introduced the plan to the Board as a means to help high schools meet the needs of all students. High school students are involved in a wide array of programs and activities, he said, and are often holding down jobs, too.

“High school students don’t come in one shape and size,” said Eckerling, with students exploring academic, vocational and some college-level classes. “It makes a lot of sense to move away from a single transportation system,” he said, and to free high schools so they can provide more program flexibility.

Several Board members indicated that community feedback would be important to receive and analyze prior to a final decision. The Board of Education’s next monthly public hearing is at 7 p.m. Thursday, March 4. To sign up to speak that evening, please call 720-423-3211. Written comments may also be sent via e-mail to board@dpsk12.org or write to Board of Education, Denver Public Schools, 900 Grant St., Room 705, Denver, CO 80203.

“This is a topic that deserves a good, thorough discussion in the coming weeks,” said Superintendent Jerry Wartgow.

In all, DPS has about 17,500 high school students. Currently, about 3,000 students are eligible to ride a school bus. However, only about half of the eligible riders (1,600 students) use the DPS fleet to reach school. (To be eligible, high school students must live 3.5 miles or more from school.)

The vast majority of high school students walk, drive a car, share rides, get dropped off by parents or friends, or use RTD. In fact, 2,400 students already use RTD as their means of travel to high school. Another 1,200 middle school students do the same.

The proposal would leave high school transportation for special education students unchanged. Additionally, DPS buses would be used for athletics and other activities.

The proposal would mean the same shift from DPS fleet to RTD for high school magnet programs. Denver School of the Arts (which serves both middle and high school grades) would still receive DPS transportation support.

High schools across the district must now use a 7:30 a.m. morning bell time because of the way the district’s bus schedules are structured.

Buses make two trips each morning - the first for middle and high schools, the second for elementary schools. After dropping off either high school or middle school students at about 7:15 a.m., buses have time to start another route and drop off elementary students at about 8:45 a.m., in time for the 9 a.m. bell times at elementary schools.

By not relying on DPS buses to deliver some of the students, high schools could start at 9 a.m. Additionally, 33 elementary schools could move their bell times an hour earlier in the day, to 8 a.m. Those 33 schools are located in parts of the city where buses would be able to make three trips - one for middle schools and two for elementary schools.

In addition to those 33 elementary schools moving to 8 a.m. starts, another 14 elementary schools would be able to consider an 8 a.m. start because they do not rely on any buses for transportation. The boundaries for all 14 schools are within the district’s one-mile walk zone at the elementary level.

An analysis by district staff shows that the average ride times might increase by about three minutes if the switch is made from the DPS fleet to RTD. In some cases, average ride times would shorten by 12 minutes. In other cases, average ride times might increase by 16 minutes.

School districts in Baltimore, Boston, Buffalo, Dayton (Ohio), Milwaukee, San Diego, and San Francisco are among those big cities where public transportation is used to transport students to high school.

For more information, contact the Public Information Office at 720-423-3414.