The cuts in bus service are being coupled with a plan to install new sidewalks, where none currently exist, in several locations across the district.
The final decision was made Tuesday night with approximately 200 parents on hand as the school board voted 6-1 to slash the courtesy busing program.
The plan will affect six schools, including three elementary schools. The board says the plan will save the district an expected $250,000 per year.
School Board President Stephen Corr says the plan is to improve walking paths and add crossing guards to walking routes already used by parents and students.
"We watch parents, who have bus service available to them, walking their students to school, rather than using the bus service," Corr said.
Some parents told Action News they were unhappy with the plan, saying some students will still have to walk along and cross heavily travelled roads.
For example, Sharon Fleck's seven-year-old will have to cross a Burnt House Hill Road on her way to Gayman Elementary.
"Not for one second am I going to let my seven-year-old walk all the way up there by herself, which then puts the onus on me to either walk her up there or drive her up there and sit in traffic for heaven only knows how long," Fleck said.
The added traffic from parents possibly opting to drive their kids to school is another concern.
Another question parents want answered: Why cut the budget for school buses when a new football coach was hired for Central Bucks East High School, at a salary of $109,284, a salary at the top of the pay scale?
District officials say the Central Bucks sports program is part of what, they call, the district's core.
"It's the third largest school district in the state, we have the fourth highest PSSA scores in the state, we have the lowest cost per student in Bucks County, and we're dedicated to maintaining that," Corr said.
The original plan also called for cutting busing at Warwick Elementary, but PennDOT stepped in and said some of the roads students had to cross were too dangerous, so the busing program there remains intact.
