Oshkosh parents whose kids go to Winneconne schools say their bus stop is unsafe. They say the answer is just 1,000 feet away.
OSHKOSH – For nine years, a school bus taking students from Oshkosh to Winneconne would stop each school day — morning and afternoon — at a small park-and-ride lot by County Y and County S, near Interstate 41 and U.S. 45 between Oshkosh and Winneconne.
Students who live in the Oshkosh Area School District but open-enroll in the Winneconne Community School District would get picked up and dropped off at the parking lot, which is owned by Winnebago County.
Come fall, though, a Winneconne school bus will still pick up and drop off students — but not at the park-and-ride lot. Instead, it'll have to travel 1,000 feet north on County S to Gray Wolf Drive, near a small industrial park.
Winneconne mistakenly was using the park-and-ride, believing it was inside its district boundaries. Instead, it's just on the other side — about 100 feet — into Oshkosh's boundaries.
Picking up students in another district's boundaries, without the "home" district's permission, is against state law. When Oshkosh alerted Winneconne in March that the park-and-ride lot was in the Oshkosh district, Winneconne moved the bus stop.
But parents and nearby business owners say the new location is less safe than the old one. They contend it would be safer for Oshkosh to allow Winneconne to again use the park-and-ride lot.
"It is an accident waiting to happen," said Jodie Skadahl, one of the parents.
State law forces a change from Winneconne's 'error'
On March 16, according to emails given to the Oshkosh Northwestern, the Winneconne school district told families who used the park-and-ride that the district had to move the bus stop, starting March 28.
Skadahl, who lives in the Oshkosh district and has three children open-enrolling in Winneconne, was surprised the change had to happen so quickly. She messaged Winneconne District Administrator Peggy Larson to ask why. Larson replied that Oshkosh told Winneconne it had to move the location.
In an email provided to the Northwestern, Oshkosh Superintendent Bryan Davis told Larson he learned that Winneconne was picking up students inside the Oshkosh district without permission.
Larson told the Oshkosh Northwestern via email the situation was Winneconne's "error."
"There were not discussion (sic) to allow Winneconne to use the space as we were in the wrong," she said.
Parents concerned about safety at new stop
During the first week at the new bus-stop location, families became worried that it wouldn't be as safe as the park-and-ride lot.
The new location on Red Fox Road — lined with tall wild grasses and buildings that house businesses and storage units — soon became crowded by the approximately 20 students and 15 cars waiting for the bus.
Skadahl said the moment parents lined up their cars on both sides of Red Fox, it basically became a "one-way road," with the bus sometimes having to move out of the way for vehicles from some of the businesses.
Shortly after the move to the new spot, Mike Dillman was waiting with other families to drop off his granddaughter when the bus had difficulty squeezing through the narrow lane between the parked cars. The bus took the mirror off the side of Dillman's pickup truck.
Dillman, a former Winneconne school bus driver, said he didn't blame the bus driver, saying the issue was caused by the parked cars crowding the road.
He said he's concerned about other scenarios that could lead to a more serious accident.
"It makes me shudder thinking about them," Dillman said.
A new solution that 'isn't better'
On April 4, the Winneconne district sent another note to the parents, changing the bus stop to Gray Wolf Drive and County S.
At first, Skadahl said she hoped the district had reevaluated safety and made a better plan, but she said the new stop has its own problems.
Lindsy Carney, who has two children who open-enroll in Winneconne, said she's seen kids running down the county road, which has a 55 mph speed limit, to catch the bus.
According to parents, to limit the possibility of kids who are running late to catch the bus, the bus was only allowed to start pickup in the morning at a specific time.
That meant when the bus arrived earlier than that time, it would sit in the park-and-ride lot — the same one that used to be the bus stop — and wait to arrive at the new location.
Carney also worries about the possibility of kids being left behind if their parents are late picking them up. When the bus could use the park-and-ride, the driver could wait and make sure all the students were picked up. But since it has to stop and drop off the kids quickly so it doesn't back up traffic, the bus can't wait.
"You don't want them left behind at the bus stop. It just doesn't make sense," Carney said.
"This isn’t better," Skadahl said.
Families, businesses say park-and-ride is safest stop
Frustrated about the change, several families addressed the Oshkosh school board during the public comment portion of its March 30 meeting.
Dillman stressed that, as a former bus driver, getting the bus off a busy road into a "safe haven" is crucial for children's safety, and the new location was unsafe.
Skadahl's two children spoke at the meeting, saying they "do not feel safe" at the new stop and asked the board to change it back. Skadahl asked the board to add an agenda item to discuss allowing Winneconne to use the park-and-ride lot.
In emails obtained by the Northwestern, Davis told Oshkosh school board members March 29 that it's a "Winneconne issue, not an OASD issue."
Business owners in the area of the current location, on Gray Wolf Drive, have asked parents questions about the change, according to Skadahl. She said she suggested they contact the county with their concerns.
Winnebago County Executive Assistant Ethan Hollenberger said some people connected with the businesses did contact County Executive Jon Doemel's office about the change, including a minor complaint about families parking in private parking lots to stay off the road.
Some employees of businesses in the area told the Northwestern that they were less concerned with the extra traffic since it occurred at off-hours for their business.
But most agreed the park-and-ride lot is a safer solution for the bus stop, with multiple employees at businesses saying it was "stupid" to move the spot by their business park.
Oshkosh school board declines to discuss the issue
Skadahl and the other families also turned to Doemel for help.
Doemel exchanged emails with Davis several times between March 29 and April 1 about the issue. In an April 1 email to Doemel, Davis wrote:
"Peggy Larson, Winneconne Supt. and I have found a solution that is safe for the students and abides by state statute. There is no more work needed on this topic. Change is difficult at first but will be fine in time."
On April 28, Doemel sent a letter to the Oshkosh and Winneconne school boards, again expressing concern about the safety of the bus-stop change.
"I am asking you to official (sic) discuss this item on an agenda and to make the best determination for the safety of our kids," Doemel wrote.
In a follow-up email to both school boards sent April 29, he said the county would allow the park-and-ride lot to be used as a bus stop.
Skadahl said that, after the April school board election, she wrote to each member of the board, asking them to put the issue on the agenda for their May meetings. But her request was denied because, she was told by school board members, "an agreement had been reached between districts."
The Oshkosh school district, through communication director Katie Nieman, sent a statement to the Northwestern about the issue:
"The Winneconne Community School District (WCSD) was previously picking up/dropping off Oshkosh resident students who choose to open enroll in to (sic) Winneconne within the Oshkosh Area School District’s (OASD) boundaries. This is prohibited by the Department of Public Instruction without permission from the resident school district; Winneconne did not have permission to do this.
"More specifically, the Department of Public Instruction rule on Out of District Transportation is: 'Generally, parents are responsible for providing transportation to and from school for students attending school under a tuition waiver or the public school open enrollment program. While school districts may provide some transportation for such students, the nonresident school district is prohibited from picking up or dropping off students within the boundaries of the resident school district without permission from the resident school district.'
"The OASD informed the WCSD of the situation and the WCSD changed their pick-up/drop-off location to a space within their district boundaries. This is a WCSD matter and the OASD appreciates the WCSD’s ownership of it."
The statement also said the district "welcomes those who have previously chosen to open enroll out of Oshkosh to enroll and experience the exceptional education available in Oshkosh."
Oshkosh school board president Bob Poeschl told the Northwestern that, because the issue is governed by DPI rules, it's an operational issue for the district. He declined further comment.
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Parents ask a law firm for help, too
In her search for more help, Skadahl was referred by Hollenberger to a lawyer with the Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty, a conservative law firm that has taken on high-profile cases across the state in recent years.
Libby Solic, WILL's director of education policy, said she's been working with the families "behind the scenes" since the end of last school year, helping them navigate the laws about school transportation.
She, too, suggested they ask the Oshkosh school board to take action.
Solic said neither school district seemed concerned about solving the safety issue. She said she's exploring the option of going through the state Legislature to work on a solution, but emphasized the problem should be addressed locally.
"The community should say ... we want our kiddos to be safe, whether they are going to Oshkosh or Winneconne," Solic said.
As a new school year nears, safety is still a concern
With the new school year about a month away, Skadahl said she's frustrated with the inaction and that she and other families weren't being listened to over the safety concerns.
"I don’t care if it’s in your district or whatever, your job is to keep kids safe," Skadahl said. "This is not a safe solution."
Carney said her family is moving closer to Winneconne in August, but she said that for families still waiting for an answer, being able to go back to using the park-and-ride is "common sense."
"We tried to go to the (Oshkosh) school board," she said. "They know that concern is out there and choose not to do anything about it."
Dillman said he's worried about kids waiting at the bus stop for parents if they're running late.
"When winter comes, you're going to have snow banks on each side of the road," he said. In the park-and-ride, "you wouldn't have kids slipping, stumbling to the bus and possibly getting hurt that way."
In the end, Skadahl said she hopes the Oshkosh school board will at least discuss allowing Winneconne to use the park-and-ride lot.
"All Oshkosh has to do is give Winneconne permission to enter their district," Skadahl said. "They’re making this way more complicated than it has to be."
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Contact Bremen Keasey at 920-570-5614 or bkeasey@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @Keasinho.
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This article originally appeared on Oshkosh Northwestern: Oshkosh parents whose kids go to Winneconne schools say stop is unsafe
