Students within Lincoln County School District #2 (LCSD#2) will have several changes that are likely to affect them this fall.  A new elementary school in Afton, a new calendar at Star Valley High School and a new transportation policy that is expected to pass first reading this month and second reading in August as it currently stands.  According to LCSD #2 Superintendent, Jon Abrams, the transportation guideline came as a directive from the school board in the fall of 2010, in an effort to maintain consistency in a district that busses children thousands of miles every school day.
“We have been so inconsistent with the way that bus stops are applied,” Abrams said.  In some neighborhoods we are stopping at every door and in other neighborhoods we make just a few designated stops.  It doesn’t matter if it is Smoot or Alpine, the board wants us to use the same criteria throughout the district.”

According the guideline, students within the district boundaries will be broken down into three tiers.
An example of a tier #1 road would be town roads that resemble city blocks.  Students within this tier would be required to walk up to a maximum of one mile in order to get to a bus stop.

Tier #2 would encompass homes that may be somewhat isolated that may have a long private road with few other houses.  Some Bedford homes would fall into this category.  This tier would limit a student to walk a maximum of  a half-mile to get to a bus stop.

The final designation, tier 3 would provide curb-to-curb service to students.  Those living in an area designated as tier 3 would be homes on US Highway 89 or Muddy String Road in the Thayne and Star Valley Ranch areas.  Higher speed limits and no places for children to walk is to be avoided for these students.

Upon approval on the second reading in August, the district will mail out post cards with students or household names with information on where and when students will be picked up this fall.

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