Rutherford County School Board rescinds plans for parent responsibility zone amid safety concerns, public outcry

Image of a sidewalk (Photo by Sky Arnold)

Plans for parent responsibility zones (PRZs) for Rutherford County Schools (RCS) are off the table indefinitely following backlash from parents and community members.

At a specially called meeting Wednesday night, school board members voted to rescind a motion to implement PRZs and moved to postpone any further votes to instate PRZs until a later school year. The move undoes the board’s vote in April to establish them beginning in the 2025-2026 school year to cut $3 million in transportation costs.

Under the original plan, school bus service would have been eliminated for students in grades K-5 who live within a mile of their school and students in grades 6-12 who live within a mile and a half, forcing parents to find other ways to get their students to class. Following the vote and feedback from frustrated parents, RCS Director James Sullivan urged the board to delay the PRZs for a school year to allow the district to study it further.

During Wednesday night’s meeting, board members said they’ve heard from dozens of parents concerned about the safety of students walking to school and difficulties with transportation. Several board members said they want to see a study done and conduct parent engagement about alternatives to PRZs, such as a community drop off where buses would pick up students from one central point and then take them to school.

“I appreciate that we heard from so much of our community because there were a lot of things that were raised that I think didn’t get brought up and didn’t get discussed so I think this is a smart move for our board to look into this further,” said Zone 4 Member Katie Darby.

“A lot of our schools do not have sidewalks. For example, Blackman Elementary School, or really Blackman Middle and Blackman High School. Yes, there’s sidewalks leading up to the school but on the other side of the school, there is a four-lane highway,” said Vice Chair Frances Rosales. “So, we’re going to have to think about if it’s being passed, we’re going to need more crossing guards, we’re going to need a lot more resources in trying to even look at the safety aspect.”

Board Chair Claire Maxwell was adamant about implementing PRZs during last month’s school board meeting, citing budget constraints. During Wednesday night’s meeting, Maxwell agreed that more time is needed to study the issue, but said from a budgetary standpoint, PRZs are inevitable. She went on to say that as Rutherford County continues to grow, there should be a push for developers and home builders to start making foot travel to school safer for students.

“At some point, we have to ask, hey, how about some sidewalks, how about some sidewalks throughout your entire neighborhood, how about a sidewalk to the school?” said Maxwell. “We’re going to need the PRZs, and I do feel like if we study this some more, talk to our parents, we could work out something that we can get some cost savings from it.”

Maxwell also suggested the possibility of implementing PRZs in only a few areas rather than district-wide. Director Sullivan told members that right now, he didn’t think such an idea would make sense.

“If you’re only doing it in targeted areas, I don’t know that it will be worth instituting in certain areas for a cost savings measure if you’re only eliminating three or six or eight buses,” said Dr. Sullivan. “What disservice that would do to some parents in certain areas, I don’t know that that would be worth $300-$350,000 in savings. That’s going to be tough when parents see buses still going, but their kid can’t get on.”

Members of the public also spoke out at the meeting, including La Vergne Mayor Jason Cole. He urged board members to hold off on PRZs, saying he’s heard from hundreds of parents in the city and shares their concerns.

“Many of them felt blindsided and betrayed with the PRZ. They felt like it was unplanned, unannounced, and it was thrust upon them suddenly,” said Cole. “I want the board to look at the PRZ and consider delaying it not just for a year, but until a comprehensive safe routes to school study is done that looks at all of the schools impacted to see where the areas of concern are for our students.”

Elizabeth Adkins’ daughter attends Lascassas Elementary School, which sits on a major highway, Lascassas Pike. She says it, and many other schools are surrounded by roads that are simply too dangerous to have children walk along.

“Many students who live within the PRZ would be forced to walk along roads with 55-mile-per-hour speed limits, roads with no sidewalks, no crosswalks. These are not safe walking routes. My daughter is 5 years old, and she weighs 35 pounds. That is who this policy is asking to walk to school along these dangerous roads,” she tearfully told board members.

Rutherford County resident Ashley Hale shared those safety concerns and addressed other problems potentially created by PRZs.

“PRZ is not just an inconvenience, it’s a risk to our children’s lives. This policy also places a heavy and unfair burden on underprivileged families as well as single parents,” said Hale. “Not every parent works flexible hours, and not every household has access to reliable transportation.”

More than 30,000 students in Rutherford County utilize school bus transportation.