Memories of the winter storm that kept students out of class for more than two weeks are still fresh in the minds of many Lexington parents, not to mention top officials in city government and the school system.
Thursday, FCPS Interim Superintendent Bill Bradford said there is no substitution for the value of in-person learning, and he sees the new plan as a way to avoid the prolonged disruptions that have occurred in recent years.
"One of the areas that we've focused on the most is in alternative transportation routes, meaning how could we make slight adjustments to our students pick up and drop off locations in coordination with the city so that we can continue to provide district transportation to our families, but in ways that they can feel safe and secure with where their students are being picked up and where they're being dropped off," he said.
Mayor Linda Gordon added that the Plan B routes under discussion would not see students waiting at bus stops far away from their neighborhoods.
"We want families to understand these are changes that would occur at stops within neighborhoods, not along major thoroughfares," she noted.
Yet the goal is to resume in-person instruction even when roads are not fully optimal in all neighborhoods through coordination with the city.
The secondary routes would only be implemented in cases of extreme weather.
The school-based portion is part of a broader effort to retool the city's winter weather response.