A small community in Wise County has been told school buses will no longer drive up their roads, because they're too dangerous and in terrible shape.
"We have three different parents that called and complained about their child getting injured on the bus when their heads hit the window whenever the bus would twist and turn," said Rod Townsend, superintendent of the Decatur Independent School District.
The school buses used to make at least 15 stops in the Hills of Oliver Creek development, but now they make only four stops.
"Right now, on these roads, it is dangerous for the kids to be riding the bus," said Rosalyn Oliver, who has two nieces who ride the bus. "But it's three times more dangerous for them to be walking some of the distances that some of these kids are coming to get to the bus in the morning."
Wise County isn't allowed to help repair private roads, leaving homeowners there looking for ways to afford what could be a $150,000 repair bill.
"These people right here work for a living. We barely make it from paycheck to paycheck, how are you going to come up with $150,000?" Oliver said.
The original developer is working to get some gravel to fill the potholes, and reach out to people who live there to form a homeowners' association to find a more permanent solution.
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Decatur ISD has spent $3,000 to repair damage to school buses caused by the potholes, but district leaders say the buses will return if the roads become safe to drive.
"We're going to do what we can to accommodate these families, and if we can make it easier on them, then that's what we'll do," Townsend said. "As long as it's in a safe environment that we can do it and not have to worry about the kids."
