Hamilton School District announces new bus transfer plan after child killed in accident
SUSSEX, Wis. (CBS 58) -- The Hamilton School District notified parents Friday night that it is changing how 4K students are taken to school by bus after a 4K student was killed in an accident.
The accident happened on Thursday, Jan. 2 at Silver Spring Intermediate School in Sussex. Family members identified the child as 5-year-old Finn Katona.
According to an email sent to families in the Hamilton School District, the student involved was a 4K student who was transferring to a shuttle bus to be taken to Willow Springs Learning Center, which is less than five minutes away driving.
Every morning, 4K students riding the bus went to Silver Spring Intermediate. Willow Springs students would then get off their buses and onto a different shuttle bus. Parents have since told reporters older students would act as chaperones in escorting younger kids to their shuttle.
Katona was hit by a school bus during the transfer process.
On Friday, Hamilton Superintendent Paul Mielke announced that beginning on Monday, Jan. 6, all 4K students will ride directly to Willow Springs. Moving forward, buses carrying 4K students will go straight to Willow Springs to drop off the youngest students first. The buses will then continue on to Silver Spring Intermediate School and individual elementary schools, according to the statement.
In the moments following the incident, parents expressed frustration with how 4K students were taken to school. Waleed Edoud told reporters his son was immediately in front of Katona when the accident happened.
"He was the one that was in front of the kid that got hit, so my kid was steps away from being the one," Edoud said. "Just do not let little kids off the bus once they're picked up, and you fix this problem. That's it."
Along with Edoud, Robert Hildebrandt questioned the bus company Hamilton contracts, Dairyland, about whether there'd been enough to an effort to ensure young students were properly supervised.
"I don't believe it's being handled," Hildebrandt said. "I think there's too many kids on the buses, and there's not enough parents or somebody around to keep an eye on the kids."
A spokesperson for Dairyland told CBS 58 in a statement the company offered its "deepest condolences to the student’s family, friends, and the Hamilton School community." The spokesperson added Dairyland is cooperating with the investigation.
As of Friday night, officials have not said why Katona was in front of the bus when it began moving.
Concerns about the busing practice aren't new
One parent, who asked to be anonymous because she did not want to be seen publicly criticizing a district she still cherishes, said she immediately had questions last year when she learned her son would be transferring buses as a 4K student.
"You're taking these four-year-olds off the bus? How many are there?" she recalled thinking. "I was reassured that they have a process down, and that it sounds a lot scarier than it actually is. I do remember somebody said that to me."
The mother said she wanted to express that she specifically values the district's teachers and thinks highly of Hamilton's academics. However, she said the 4K busing process left parents scratching their heads.
"They're wondering why are the four-year-olds getting off the bus," she said. "Why can't the four-year-olds be dropped off at Willow Springs that is minutes down the road?"
On Thursday, those parents' worst fears became reality. The parent said when she first heard there was an accident involving a student at Silver Spring, she immediately thought of the 4K busing protocol.
"When I first heard about this, I knew exactly what happened," she said. "I literally said to my husband, 'I guarantee it was one of the 4K kids during a transfer.'"
A district spokesperson did not respond to questions Friday. A spokesperson for the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction said because school districts contract out bus transportation, the state does not give guidance on best busing practices.
The Wisconsin School Bus Association did not respond to questions Friday about how common it is for 4K students across the state to change buses as a daily routine.
Mielke's letter added bus traffic patterns will also be adjusted at Silver Spring Intermediate School starting Monday. The parent CBS 58 sat down with Friday said she suspected the district would implement immediate changes.
"I'm sure that's why the kids were off [Friday]," she said. "I'm sure that [district leaders are] thinking, 'OK, how are we gonna change this and make sure that this literally never happens again?'"