Dexter Community Schools will implement a no-transport zone starting this fall, requiring 239 students who live within a 1.5-mile radius of their schools to walk, bike or find a ride to school other than the bus.

The area ineligible for bus transportation includes Dexter Crossing, Walkabout Creek, Hilltop, Huron Farms and all students in town except those in Westridge. The high school no-transport zone also includes Weber Drive and Bent Tree Drive.

The district will provide morning-only bus shuttles for young fives through fourth grade students to cross major streets, with stops close to Lions Park, Dexter Community Park and Dexter Crossings, according to an email sent to school district families.

Creekside and Dexter High School students can ride a shuttle from the Solar Walkway to and from their buildings in the morning and afternoons.

DCS requests every family fill out a transportation plans survey to help the district create the bus routes for students outside of the no-transport zone. Bus routes will be published the week of Aug. 28, and students without a transportation form filed by Aug. 15 may not be able to have a seat on the bus until after the first week of school, the email said.

Dexter’s Board of Education started planning the implementation of the no-transport zone in November 2023 due to a shortage of bus drivers.

Dexter currently has 20 bus drivers and would need 28 for a full staff, DCS Director of Office Management and Communications Hope Vestergaard told The Sun Times News.

“DCS is continuously looking to add highly qualified drivers and trained personnel to our transportation team,” Vestergaard said. “If you have interest in joining our DCS transportation team, please call (734) 424-4190 ext. 1602.”

Vestergaard said the number of drivers needed to continue servicing the no-transport zone is not under consideration.

“Our transportation department is making things work with the current staffing by condensing routes, which means buses are to capacity, runs are longer for students, and we are making double runs to larger neighborhoods for the two different school start times,” Vestergaard said.

Michigan schools are not required by law to provide transportation for students. If the school board does decide to provide transportation, districts are not required to transport students who live within 1.5 miles from their school.

The no-transport zone is set to continue throughout the school year and beyond.

“We generally don’t use the term permanent to describe new programs and policies because everything is subject to evaluation and refinement, but this is not a trial,” Vestergaard said.

For more information on the no-transport zone, visit www.dexterschools.org/departments/transportation/no-transport-zone.