Durham Public Schools will implement “express stops” for some 770 students enrolled in Durham School of the Arts and the Brogden Middle School dual-language program this coming school year.
Under the new plan, buses will pick up and drop off students at a school or DPS site up to 10 miles away from their homes.
Administrators hope the plan will get students to school on time while cutting fuel and maintenance costs.
“As a principle, we would like for all of our students to be in their classrooms, ready to learn…when the bell rings,” Anthony White, executive director of auxiliary services, said at a school board work session on Thursday.
The new approach reduces the number of daily stops along DSA routes from 563 to 71, saving more than $50,000 annually in fuel costs, White said.
The district may extend the “express stops” approach to all Durham secondary magnet schools the following year, depending on data and feedback from DSA and Brogden Middle School families.
The new bussing approach would not apply to exceptional children. Those students would continue to receive special transportation as outlined in their Individualized Education Plans, White said.
This is not the first time the administration has pushed for “express stops” for magnet schools students. Last January, the school board scrapped plans to implement the stops at DSA, Rogers-Herr Middle School, and the School for Creative Studies following overwhelmingly negative community feedback.
Community members appear similarly unenthusiastic about the idea this year. In a recent survey of 432 DSA parents, over 40% of respondents said they were not open to using the “express stops.”
“The mission of public busing isn’t just to have on-time vehicles, it’s to get kids to school,” Chad Haefele, a parent of students at Hope Valley Elementary School and Rogers-Herr Middle School, said at the work session. “You’d be cutting down the list of who can take the bus in the first place, putting a burden on families, and calling that success.”
“Families without the extreme flexibility during the workday will effectively be shut out of the secondary magnet school program,” he added.
The new approach includes a hardship waiver for families with unique circumstances. To appeal for an alternate bus stop, families will fill out an online form with a 10-day turnaround time, said White, the director of auxiliary services.
School board members expressed ambivalence towards the new plan, but also resignation.
“You all have been trying to bring this to us multiple times and we, including [myself], have been reluctant to take this unpopular, difficult step,” board member Natalie Beyer said. “But I think that we are at that time to try this pilot.”
Board chair Bettina Umstead noted that many families applied to magnet schools this winter under the impression that door-to-door transportation would be provided.
“I don’t love that this presentation is coming after the magnet window has closed,” she said.
The application window for magnet schools closed on January 30.
Deborah Pitman, assistant superintendent of specialized services, said the acceptance of a magnet seat for the upcoming school year is binding. However, families may submit appeals regarding their bussing situation, she said.
After some discussion, the school board agreed to pilot the “express stops” at Durham School of the Arts and the dual-language immersion program at Brogden Middle School.
A decision about extending “express stops” to all secondary magnet schools will come in the fall.
Families urge support for Murray-Massenburg art teacher
Murray-Massenburg Elementary parents, students and teacher showed up in full force at the work session to support Elvin Herrera, an art teacher from Honduras whose J-1 exchange visitor visa was not renewed by the district.
“At a time when Durham Public Schools face a shortage of certified teachers, we are choosing to lose one we already know is extraordinary,” said Natassia Rodriguez-Ott, PTA president at Murray-Massenburg. “That just doesn’t make sense.”
Herrera previously taught at Eastway Elementary School before joining Murray-Massenburg in August 2024. His J-1 visa, valid for five years, expires at the end of the current school year.
Parents and teachers extolled Herrera’s commitment to his students at Murray-Massenburg.
One parent, Jonathan Ziefle, showed the board a drawing his daughter made of herself holding hands with Herrera under a smiling sun. “He inspires her, and he inspires me,” Ziefle said. “And he’s the kind of teacher we just can’t afford to lose at DPS.”
Peter Crawford, a parent and recent school board candidate, echoed Rodriguez-Ott’s concerns about teacher shortages. He urged the district to reconsider renewing Herrera’s visa.
“Y’all, he shows up to kids’ birthday parties. He is a part of this community,” Crawford said.
International teachers on J-1 visas typically join the district for a maximum of five years before returning to their home country. After another two years, they can re-apply for a J-1 visa, said Michelle Hayes, executive director of talent acquisition and employee recognition.
Nicholas King, the deputy superintendent, stressed that the district’s “standard practice” is not to renew J-1 visas beyond the designated five years.
“Some time ago, as a response to some challenges we were having with identifying staff through the pandemic, there were some exceptions made to that process,” King said. “Those folks who had additional visas applied for were, in fact, an exception, not the rule.”
“We aren’t pulling the rug out from under folks. We are…simply aligning our practice with the agreements that those folks came into this program under,” King added.
As Murray-Massenburg parents spoke at the work session, four of Herrera’s students sat outside the board room, watching the proceedings on a television screen. Two of the girls squeezed into a chair together, their feet dangling inches above ground.
Above: Anthony White, DPS executive director of auxiliary services, presented the “express stops” plan to the school board Thursday. Photo by Lena Nguyen — The 9th Street Journal
Tanya Wan
