No major

problems as busing cuts start

Reductions of

in-town busing began Monday

By GUY PRIEL

Journal Staff Writer

NEW ULM -- The first day with limited in-town busing in District 88 went off without a hitch Monday, according to school officials.

Busing was officially cut by the school board in mid September after a community effort to raise $100,000 to keep the service in place failed. Initially, the busing cut was prompted by the failure of an excess levy referendum last spring.

"Things went very smoothly this morning," Superintendent Harold Remme said. "I have been in touch with all the principals, and everyone had a smooth opening."

A few students eligible for busing were not picked up during the morning run because some routes had changed and the times were different.

"There are still some concerns with transportation issues that have been brought up by parents," Remme said. "Most of those are concerns on whether or not they will be able to take their children to and from school all year."

Schools received some help from the police department for traffic control, which helped a lot, Remme said.

"Having a smooth day was what we wanted to achieve," he said. "We had some students who had misplaced their bus passes, but they were replaced by mid-afternoon."

Students at Washington School were instructed to cross the street at crosswalks whenever possible to help motorists, Principal Randy Voth said.

"Everything went pretty smooth overall," he said. "We staggered drop-offs, which helped with traffic flow."

All middle school students arrived on time with very few absences reported, so busing was not a major issue, Principal Steven Weber said.

"It turned out to be an excellent transition that everyone dealt with well," he said.

Parents of Jefferson Elementary students knew the locations of drop-off spots, and the staff helped escort students into the building, Principal Tanya Schull said.

"Things went very well," she said. "We are very pleased with how it went. The parents were very cooperative."

There is no parking along South Payne Street in front of Jefferson and the high school during school hours. The area is mainly reserved for parents to drop off students, Schull said.

"There was some confusion regarding stops, but that is typical in a situation like this," New Ulm Bus Lines manager Dean Hosna said. "The stops are the same, but the route changes caused some of the times to be different so that is where the confusion came from."

Bus drivers reported that traffic flow was smooth at all the school sites, and there was not as much traffic as was initially anticipated.

"Overall, I would have to say that things went well," Hosna said.

In the afternoon, everything went smoothly again. Remme expects the transportation situation to improve as people get familiar with the new system.