LIVONIA, Mich. (WXYZ) — New guidelines in Livonia are changing which students qualify for bus transportation, leaving some parents concerned about safety and scheduling challenges.
Some families who have relied on school buses for years will now have their children walking up to a mile to school, following Livonia Public Schools' update to their decades-old routing software.
Watch the video report below:
"I was shocked," said Laurie Welty, a mother to a high school student who previously took the bus.
Holly Mlynek, a mother of two children, ages 5 and 9, faces a particularly difficult situation as both her kids will now be expected to walk about a mile to school.
"It's a 20-minute walk down 6 Mile (Road) through a neighborhood over a bridge that I'm not sure gets maintained in the winter to the back of the school," Mlynek said.
For business owners like Mlynek and her husband, the change creates significant scheduling challenges.
"Other people rely on us as well for their scheduling, and shortening our work days can be kind of tricky," Mlynek said.
Safety remains the primary concern for many parents, including Welty, whose high school son must now cross major roadways.
"He's crossing two major roads with five lanes of traffic and with school starting early in the morning — he's in high school —he's gonna be walking in the dark at 6:30 a.m. to get to school," Welty said.
According to Livonia Public Schools, the changes affect less than 1% of bus riders. The district also noted that while some families are being moved to walk zones, others will receive bus service for the first time.
Parents expressed frustration about the timing of the announcement, which came just weeks before the start of school.
"It's really hard for parents at the last minute to figure out new scheduling, where they're gonna drop their kid off, who's gonna drop them off if they already had a schedule in place or somebody to do that. Now they have to find somebody else within two weeks to do that," Mlynek said.
"I know he's in high school, but he's 15 and to send him out in the dark to walk 45 minutes, I'm not OK with that," Welty said.
A representative of Livonia Public Schools says they are reviewing special circumstances on a case-by-case basis, and parents can appeal the changes with the district.
More information on the appeals process can be found on the district's website.
—————
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
