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August 22, 2008

Some EHS athletes on their own in finding a ride to sports practice

By Bridget Nash Staff Writer

If you’re an athlete for Enid High School, but don’t have a driver’s license or a car, getting to practice every day during the last hour of school literally is you or your parents’ problem to solve.

Enid Public Schools Board of Education members heard concerns at their meeting last Monday that transportation for 10th- through 12th-grade student athletes to practice facilities is not provided by the schools. Lt. Col. Dave Stewart, Vance Air Force Base honorary board member, expressed concern on behalf of other Vance parents.

Stewart said some parents of high school students voiced concerns when they found out their children were practicing off-campus, and even more were concerned to find students had hitched rides with older students.

Currently, ninth-grade students at the junior high schools who play high school sports are transported to the practice facilities, but sophomores and those without driver’s licenses are forced to find their own way to practice facilities.

Most Enid High School sports teams currently practice off campus.

“We have so many sports that practice off facility,” said Amber Graham Fitzgerald, Enid school and community relations director.

According to Fitzgerald, there are several obstacles standing in the way of providing transportation for athletes to the individual practice facilities.

The first obstacle is the fact athletes would need transportation at the same time all buses are running their regular routes.

The second obstacle is the price of running buses.

Currently, the cost of busing junior high students to the high school practice facilities is $28,300 each year.

“That is total district expense,” said Fitzgerald.

Adding buses to pick up high school athletes would add create additional expenses for the district.

Fitzgerald said one thing that will be done differently is communication. Parents of athletes will be told in advance about the transportation situation, she said, so parents do not find out after a sport has started their children are hitching rides with older students.

Fitzgerald said school officials will use their School-Reach online communication tool as well as letters and meetings to inform the parents of the situation.

EPS officials are searching for cost-effective ways to solve the transportation problem, said Fitzgerald.

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