School districts adapt to transportation changes

A decades-old transportation agreement between the Thompson Falls, Noxon and Trout Creek school districts allowing buses to cross district boundaries to pick up students has been changed.

The agreement that had been in place for the last 34 years allowed buses to cross district lines to pick up and drop off students. The districts included were the elementary district and high school districts in Thompson Falls and Noxon and the elementary district in Trout Creek.

Prior to the new school year a meeting was held to discuss the current and past agreements. The Noxon school district found Thompson Falls at fault for crossing the lines to pick up and drop off students in Noxon’s high school district at the Trout Creek grocery store. This was not an agreement between the two high school districts and was considered illegal practice according to Preston Wenz, Trout Creek’s superintendent. Thompson Falls started the school year by continuing to use that location. But, after Labor Day the bus driver began using the location as a safe place for turning around. It is no longer used as a pick up and drop off site, according to the three district superintendents, Bud Scully in Thompson Falls, Wenz and Noxon’s David Whitesell.

Scully said the new agreement between Noxon and Thompson Falls was signed at their September board meeting. This agreement is to allow the Thompson Falls bus to turn around in the Noxon district at the Trout Creek store. Thompson Falls has created two new bus stops to use for picking up and dropping off students in place of the grocery store stop. They are at Pinetree Lane and South Hill Road.

Scully commented that Trout Creek was using Thompson Falls for stops Feed and Fuel. “That location was unsafe. We had it relocated to Beagle’s Bakery and Espresso west of Thompson Falls,” he said. Trout Creek, so far, has not sent Thompson Falls an agreement to use that location nor the Whitepine Cemetery location for turning around after the Alger Road stop. Scully said the agreement with Trout Creek to enter the Thompson Falls district for bus stops was dissolved “because it isn't necessary with the new open enrollment law that will be enacted next year.” Scully further commented that “it isn’t legal to cross into other districts for the purpose of picking up students. I wouldn’t send buses to the Trout Creek school to pick up students to bring to Thompson Falls.”

In extenuating circumstances, Scully added, when a bus cannot go to a specified location for safety or legal reasons, the district may have a transportation contract with parents, which ensures the student gets to school. “If we can’t serve a student and they have to go to school somewhere else it is more cost effective than running a whole bus for one student.” This saves the school district money by eliminating extra bussing costs, he added. “An example would be the Thompson Pass transportation contract that we have had to fulfill in the past, ” Scully said.

“It’s a mess now. For 34 years the tri-district agreement allowed buses to cross district lines to take students to schools of their choosing,” Wenz said.

There are others who agree with Wenz. “This has been disappointing for our families,” said Mike Linderman, former Chairman of the Trout Creek School Board. Linderman added that he can only speculate on why the situation has occurred. “It has to do with relationships breaking down. Thompson Falls and Noxon schools have led us to believe that Trout Creek school is the problem,” Linderman said.

John Mosher from Mosher Transportation in Thompson Falls said that no routes or stops are made by his company without the approval of the county transportation committee at specified meetings. “Our stop was a lot better at the store in Trout Creek and safer for the kids. This is only making it difficult for them, and their parents.” Mosher also said that he personally goes to the bus stops to assess the safety of drop-offs and pick-ups. “I am watching over and making sure they are safe stops.”

Natalie Erwin, who is on the Noxon school board and has kids going out of district from Trout Creek to Noxon, said that parents need to understand that all three districts need to follow the same rules. “If that means parents have to drive their children to the nearest bus stop then so be it.” Erwin also said that she drives 15 extra minutes for dropoff and pickup. “The best thing concerned parents can do is communicate with their school districts and let them know if situations are not safe for their children.”

At the July 2023 transportation meeting that was held to approve the 2023-24 school year bus routes, the plan to keep Trout Creek in the agreement was voted down, according to Wenz. “Noxon and Thompson Falls made a bi-district agreement to continue bussing students from each other’s schools and leave Trout Creek school out of the equation,” he said. The Average Number Belonging (ANB) allotments are what each school receives for students attending school in their districts, according to Wenz. “The Open Enrollment Bill was passed to help offset loss of funds by students attending other schools. If students choose to attend an out-of-district school, the schools pay a penalty to that chosen school,” according to Wenz

“I would be glad to waive the penalty from Thompson Falls in order for the students to be bussed to my school,” Wenz said. “This year’s enrollment is down about half from last year's,” he said. Wenz thinks the bussing issue has caused some of that. “The fact that I am leaving has parents unsure about the future of the school and their students' education,” Wenz added. He has resigned but is fulfilling his contract that ends at the end of the school year.

Noxon Superintendent David Whitesell said that with the new open enrollment bill, students can go to the school of their choice, without a penalty, but they must provide their own transportation. This saves the taxpayers money. “We want to do what is best for the kids. We are not trying to stop any child from going to the school of their choice,” Whitesell said. “We have to be more marketable and give constituents what they want.”

Voting against the old bussing agreement was one way to move forward, Whitesell said. “Just because it’s been around for 34 years does not make it right.”

For safety reasons the Thompson Falls bus will continue to turn around at the Trout Creek store. “It isn’t safe to turn around at the trestle bridge. But, the driver is not picking up Thompson Falls students at the store anymore,” Whitesell said.

Whitesell said he has been trying to answer questions regarding the bussing agreement. There have been a lot of conversations on social media. “I want to clarify any confusion,” he added.

Scully said that there is no penalty for students going out of their district. Some schools charge out of district tuition, such as in Missoula, he noted. “We signed a new bus route agreement with Noxon. During the wintertime when roads are icy the Pinetree stop is safer than the Whitepine Cemetery stop. The store in Trout Creek will continue to be the turn around place for our bus,” Scully said. He added that they transport high school students but younger students can be on there as well. “As long as they are on our bus route.”

“Overall,” Scully said, “the buses are running and the transportation agreement with Noxon is working well.”

At the September 11 Thompson Falls School Board meeting, out of district students were approved for the 2023-24 school year. There were 13 elementary students and 56 high school students approved to attend Thompson Falls schools, but numbers can vary, Scully said.

Wenz said his attendance numbers have dropped and they will most likely continue to drop because parents can’t afford the fuel to take their children to school. He does not fully understand Whitesell’s and Scully’s reasoning for the elimination of Trout Creek Elementary School District from the old agreement. “Because our school can no longer transport students across district lines, they are the ones who are suffering.”

Lisa Wadsworth, the county superintendent of schools, stated that she doesn’t currently have much information on the situation. “Schools have to agree on routes and bus stops. Otherwise there is no legal agreement and districts may not cross lines without an agreement,” she said.

Mosher said there have been a lot of changes in the Thompson Falls and Trout Creek districts his company services. “We are trying to make a safer situation for our kids.” Mosher added that he wants to thank his drivers for doing a good job. “We are a training facility as well. Training is important.”