LYON MOUNTAIN — An unofficial public meeting regarding the Northern Adirondack Central School District bus routes for students living in Lyon Mountain was held Friday evening.
Concerned parents and residents of Lyon Mountain gathered to show support for NACSD to return to door-to-door pick up.
Lyon Mountain mother Ali Greene collected formal complaints to submit to the New York State Board of Education and presented her own research and alternate bus route.
“I’ve been watching my friends and family fight, thinking for sure their valid complaints would make a difference, but as soon as I saw the video of the president of the Board of Education treating them like that, and the rest of the board saying nothing. I had to take the reins. None of these families deserve this torture over 12 minutes tops,” Greene said to the Press-Republican.
Prior to Friday’s meeting, Greene put together an independent study regarding school transportation. She read hundreds of appeals submitted to the NYS Board of Education, surveyed parents and other residents, and planned out a comprehensive bus route with Clinton County’s Geographic Information System map.
Greene’s alternate bus route includes 12 stops in the morning and 13 in the afternoon, and each pick up would be door side with no crossing required.
Dannemora Town Supervisor Joey Varin, who organized the first unofficial meeting a week prior, will propose the alternate route to the NACSD board at their meeting Wednesday at 6 p.m.
“I just want kids to have a safe way to get to school and home,” Greene said. “This is ridiculous. They are fighting us against unsafe conditions.”
Green has three children in the district, and two occasionally utilize the bus to get to and from school.
Two weeks before the 2025-26 school year, families in Lyon Mountain were notified by the district about upcoming bus schedules and pick-up location changes, which now require students to walk to a designated bus stop, often before sunrise and in harsh conditions during winter months.
Residents at the meeting said some locations are not being maintained by the school or town, and children have to walk in the road for up to a mile to reach a bus stop, which puts them at risk of being hit by a car, snowplow or bus.
The policy change only affects students who live in Lyon Mountain.
Lori Stacy, of Chazy Lake, said forcing kids to wait in harsh winter conditions is not only dangerous, but also traumatizing.
“What would happen if you made your child stand outside in sub-zero temperature for 10, 20 minutes? Your neighbor would call CPS (Child Protective Services) on you,” she said.
“It’s constant child abuse and traumatization. It’s sub-zero temps now. In spring, it’ll be rain.”