First Day of School Means More Chapel Hill Students Will Take a Walk

A bus didn't pick up Serenity Holmes on her first day back to school Wednesday morning.

Because she lives within a mile of in Perry Hall, administrators have designated her a walker.

"I drive her anyways," said her mother Corrina Holmes. "She's only in third grade."

According to Baltimore County Public Schools Board Policy 3410, elementary and middle schools are not obligated to provide bus transportation to students who live within one mile of the school.

The policy, first adopted in 1968, was cited last spring when administrators announced the elimination of 25 bus stops in neighborhoods surrounding the school. An online petition, started by parent Kathryn Kerr, opposes the policy. It has since received 136 signatures.

Kerr said her child's suggested walking path passes the home of a registered sex offender, but she also has concerns about the distance and safety of younger children.

"The school board forces our 5-year-old children to attend all-day kindergarten, but the policy for transportation of these 5-and-6-year-old children has not been changed and they are still expected to walk one mile to school in any type of weather," she said in an email message to Patch.

County and school administrators were not immediately available for comment on why bus stops were eliminated near Chapel Hill.

Police Officer Carl McQuaw was stationed at a newly painted crosswalk to assist students in front of Chapel Hill Wednesday morning.

The crosswalk was used safely all morning, McQuaw said, adding that police will only be stationed at the crosswalk until a crossing guard is hired.

Parent Debbie Ekonomides, who lives on nearby , said she doesn't have a problem with the walking policy, although she was grateful for the new crosswalk. 

"I think it really helps to have the police here," Ekonomides said.

Lucy White-Lehman, whose daughter Chloe Lehman is starting kindergarten, said eliminating buses contributed to more traffic Wednesday morning from parents who opted to drive their children.

"There's a lot more congestion," White-Lehman said. "I don't think it's necessarily a great idea, but I guess it saves them some money."

Check Patch for updates.