School Bus Schedules Not Likely to Change

Fullerton School District bus schedules probably won’t change for the 1997-98 school year.

District officials had considered changing the times that schools open and close so that buses would have to make only one trip to and from each school, thus saving between $150,000 to $200,000.

Trustees said the money would have been used to help pay for the expansion of the class-size reduction program, which calls for 20 or fewer pupils per classroom in kindergarten and second grade. First-grade classes already are down to 20 or fewer students.

The bus schedule change, which would have had Nicolas, Ladera Vista and D. Russell Parks junior high schools starting classes at 7:15 a.m. and dismissing students at 2 p.m., sparked criticism from parents who said the early hour would be too taxing on their children.

Many of the district’s elementary schools favored the schedule change because it would have had all first- through sixth-grade students starting and ending classes at the same hours. The schools now have different start and end times for different grade levels.

Unless a plan can be devised that will draw a consensus from schools and parents, no changes will be made, Board President Anthony M. Valla said. “As far as I can see, . . . the bus issue is dead for this year,” he said.

The district, however, is committed to expanding its class-size reduction program, Valla said. The funds for the program will come from the state and the district’s general fund.