MONTAGUE — A Montague resident expressed concerns regarding a long standing busing policy with the Gill Montague School Committee. Montague resident Michelle Billings said she did not feel it was safe for her two 6-year-old children to walk to school in the morning.
Superintendent Michael Sullivan said he would have the new School Resource Officer Dan Minor make an evaluation of the pedestrian route and bring a determination to the superintendent and School Committee before the next committee meeting.
Billings, who resides on Montague Street, said she doesn’t believe it is safe for her children to walk to school.
“I have two very young children, they are just 6 years old and because we live so close to the school they are being told they have to walk and I don’t think its safe,” Billings said. “We live on a busy street they have to cross several roads with no side walks to our house.”
She added that she would be jeopardizing her job if she were to drive and pick them up every day after school as well.
The existing policy states regular transportation for students includes only those outside of a 1.5-mile radius from their respective school, with the exception of kindergartners, who can use the bus if they live more than a half-mile from the school.
Sullivan said there is an exception to regular routes and services detailed in the policy as well.
“It’s a homegrown policy to engage the expertise of the local police department. We’ve done it a couple times in the past few years — once in Gill, once in Montague,” Sullivan said. “We go through the police department, and ask them to assess if there are any extraordinary hazards so they give their professional opinion about it and that comes back to me.”
The responsibility of the evaluation would fall on Minor, who would then send the evaluation to Sullivan who would make a recommendation to the school committee for disposition.
“I live on Montague Street. I know its close to the school, but I also know the safety building is at the end of our road and people fly down that road,” Billings said. “It’s been addressed with the Police Department. It doesn’t matter that the speed limit is 35 or 40, people are going 50 or 60 miles down that road and there are no sidewalks. I urge you to please make a change for our students.”
Sullivan said he would have Minor make an evaluation and information would be presented to the committee before the next meeting in September.
“We are asking the Montague Police to make a recommendation to us as to whether or not, for the students in this location, there exists extraordinary hazards to pedestrian travel along the route over which these students would have to walk in order to get to their school,” Sullivan said. “I then review their recommendation and make a recommendation of my own to the School Committee for its disposition.”
School Committee member Cassie Damkoehler said she appreciated Billings coming to board and suggested she reach out to the community for help in the matter if she doesn’t receive her desired answer.
“People are on different schedules so it can be really hard to figure that out. It takes a village and I think we have a really great community, I know I had to rely on a mom friend to trade off,” Damkoehler said. “If you don’t find you get the result you’re looking for, reach out to the community to make those connections, to figure out different ways because sometimes the way from A to B isn’t always clear.”
For others interested in making requests, they are advised to call or email Sullivan requesting a pedestrian route evaluation.