Equity And Buses? Here's What LTHS Means

La Grange IL

03 June, 2022

8:30 AM

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LA GRANGE, IL – A Lyons Township High School official said last month that the "consistent lateness" of some buses was becoming an equity issue. After Patch reported the statement, some readers questioned what the official meant. At a school board meeting in May, Scott Eggerding, the school district's director of curriculum, said late buses were particularly a problem on late start Wednesdays. "We've tried all sorts of creative solutions, and honestly, the more we look at the distances that those buses that are late tend to come from, the more we see this as a real concern about equity in students getting there," he told the board. Patch asked the school's spokeswoman, Jennifer Bialobok, for a fuller explanation. She said equity with buses has to do with access to the school on late start days. "A student should not have to miss class time because they live farther from North or South Campus or happen to live on a bus route that the bus company cannot ensure an on-time arrival," Bialobok said in an email. She said Eggerding's comment had everything to do with the effect on students who lack the means to get to school independently of a bus. "If a student does not have the ability to get a ride to school or have a parent drive them to school as the only way to be on time, that is not equitable," she said. According to school records, many of the late school buses on Wednesdays come from towns such as Brookfield and La Grange Park. They have lower median household incomes than La Grange and Western Springs. In some cases, the district arranged for early buses, meaning students arrive more than an hour early. The early buses tend to come from farther towns with lower median incomes.