North Texas parents demand bus stop change after student safety concerns, traffic incidents
PROSPER — With all the growth the town of Prosper has experienced this school year, the Prosper Independent School District made changes to several bus stops.
Now, some parents in one neighborhood are asking the district to reverse the decision for their specific bus stop.
Prosper ISD parent Amanda Cloutier said last Friday as her kids were getting off the bus in her neighborhood a truck hit the extended bus arm and kept going.
"My children were actively getting off," she said. "They were lunged forward. They heard the sound. The kids on the bus started screaming. It's just this horrible feeling that you don't have the control to keep your kids safe and the leaders have failed us."
Before the start of this school year, she and other parents who live near E 1st St. and Hidden Lake Dr. said they were notified about changes to the district's bus routes.
"The bus would no longer come into our neighborhood, it will stop on the street, and immediately we started voicing our concerns knowing that this is a dangerous place for a bus to stop," Cloutier said.
She said they went to the school board to try and get the decision reversed.
"Even had a grievance hearing and they voted against our request," Cloutier said.
Since the start of the school year, parents have shot multiple videos of people speeding past the bus during drop-off and pick-up.
It's something CBS News Texas cameras witnessed as well.
"We know we can't control drivers, but what we can control is where the stop is located and we want it moved back into our neighborhood," Prosper ISD parent Jamie Pickel said.
In a statement to CBS News Texas, a spokesperson for Prosper ISD said:
"While we understand that the previous bus service inside the gated community was more convenient, the new centralized pickup location at the turn lane outside the community gates creates a safer environment – as confirmed by an independent, third-party report – by eliminating dangerous bus-backing movements in cul-de-sacs, even though it requires students to walk a short distance within their gated community or parents to pick up at the community entrance. This change aligns with standard practices across our district and most school districts nationwide, where students typically walk to centralized bus stops outside gated communities or communities with difficult navigation. The safety of our students must be our paramount concern as we follow the clear recommendations provided by safety professionals."
"To come into our neighborhood, which we have large cul-de-sacs, they need to make a 180° turn, they would have 10 feet more than what the manufacturer's documentation says they need," Prosper ISD Parent Allen Rountree said.
Addressing the issues, a spokesperson for the town of Prosper said an education campaign about bus safety was rolled out and has increased police presence.
"They're giving citations, but they can't keep up with how many people are still running the stop sign," Cloutier said.
Parents said they'll continue their fight and plan to speak at an upcoming school board meeting.
