OSHKOSH (NBC 26) — Several Oshkosh parents who open-enroll their kids to the Winneconne school system continue their fight to move a bus stop they say is unsafe for their children and now, they may have help in Madison.
After their children's former bus stop at a park-and-ride was moved to a spot directly on the side of County Highway S to be within the Winneconne Community School District's (WCSD) boundaries in the spring of 2022, Jodie Skadahl and a group of other parents asked the Oshkosh Area School District to allow the pickup to return to its original location. When the district refused, Skadahl says she reached out to Wisconsin State Senator Dan Feyen for help.
“We are at looking at drafting a bill that makes all county areas, park and rides within half a mile of district boundaries a safe haven," she explained, "anyone can use it, any district can use it for the safety of the kids.”
Wade Foley is another Oshkosh parent who sends his children to Winneconne. He says he feels the district hasn't take concerns over the bus stop's safety seriously, and says it's "just a matter of time until something happens," due to the amount of traffic driving along the narrow road.
Foley says he hopes the pending legislation, will force the districts to make a change.
“I doubt they’ll do it on their own," he said, "[but] I think if some bills are passed, they’ll kind of make them deal with it.”
A spokesman for Sen. Feyen did confirm that his office has drafted the bill, but said they want to give the districts time to work the issue out themselves before introducing the legislation.
WCSD District Administrator Peggy Larson says she received a call from Sen. Feyen, but was not give any details of the bill.
She admits that her district was mistaken for picking up children at a location within Oshkosh's boundaries, and says that, although not required to offer open-enrolled students rides, they've given parents other pickup options, including the Winneconne park-and-ride and Vinland Town Hall.
According to the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction, school districts can allow other districts to pick up children within their boundaries, but Larson says WCSD and Oshkosh haven't considered doing so.
“No," she said when asked whether the two districts have discussed moving the stop to its original location, "the Oshkosh Superintendent and I have talked multiple times about this…I respect the fact that we are not to enter another district’s boundary to pick up kids."
