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Central Point avoids bus service cuts School boundary shifts, Medford district changes make difference By VICKI GUARINO CENTRAL POINT -- Enrollment boundary changes at the district's five elementary schools, coupled with shifts in the border with the Medford School District, are saving bus service for many Central Point students. "No runs are going to be cut," Central Point transportation supervisor Pat Bohnert said Monday. Administrators last spring had warned that the district might have to eliminate some bus service because the growing community's demand was outstripping the district's capacity. Transportation had been threatened for youngsters living near schools -- within walking distance, as set by state law. Central Point has been providing transportation service that exceeded state requirements. State law requires school districts to provide transportation to secondary grade students who live more than 1 miles from school, and primary students who live more than a mile from school. Busing will continue within those distances this year because enrollment boundary changes are enabling the district to cut duplicated runs and several routes that shuttled students between the three elementary schools within Central Point's city limits. The district has been using two to three buses in a shuttle service because some grades in some schools were full and students had to be bused elsewhere. "We had buses all over the place," Bohnert said. "We won't have to be crisscrossing buses to get students to the different schools. "And we won't have two buses going by kids standing on the side of the road." The district has changed enrollment areas to move more Central Point youngsters into elementary schools in Gold Hill and Sams Valley. Some 200 students will be attending a different school in September because of the changes. The shift was initiated to ease overcrowding in Central Point's schools. The district's boundary change agreement with Medford has further simplified bus routing. The changes involved only a few homes, but has allowed both districts to transport students more efficiently. Students living in the district boundary change area are being given the option of staying in their original school, but families will have to provide transportation. Central Point's transportation scheduling has grown more difficult in the past few years because of rapid growth and the development of new subdivisions, which have required new bus runs. Scheduling has been further hampered by funding problems. Historically, the school district bought a couple of new buses every three years at a cost of $80,000 to $100,000. The purchase plan had to be abandoned last year because of tight finances. Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 1999, Medford, Oregon USA