Waking up early in the morning to commute to school by public transportation is a hassle for some students this year because of the CSO plan. Both incoming and returning students in the Liberal Arts program at South High have been affected by the transportation changes that started this fall.

According to the new policy in the Changing School Options (CSO) plan, students must attend the neighborhood school in their zone, with the exception of a few citywide programs. Students that attended an Minneapolis public high school last year have option of being grandfathered into their previous school.

Students in the Liberal Arts program who live outside the South attendance zone program do not have the option of taking the school bus. They have to either attend one of their neighborhood schools or find their own transportation to South.

Although the CSO plan provides most Liberal Arts students who live out of the school zone with Go-To cards, the plan still creates problems for some students. Junior Rashonti Smith, a Liberal Arts student, is not bused and doesn’t qualify to receive a Go-To card. Smith explains her frustration, “[The CSO plan is] not the best option because walking to school every day in the cold weather can be harsh…I feel as though I should be eligible for something because my father works at South High and paying for train tickets every morning adds up.” Smith, who lives 1.8 miles away from school, has never received a school bus while attending South and believes that being a loyal student to should have merit.

Some south staff members have a different outlook on the CSO plan than the students. “My view is that the CSO plan is trying to get the students back into their home school,” said Nora Wessling. Wessling, who works in the main office, often has several students and parents that come in asking about school bus requirements and public transportation information.

“I get a lot of flack because parents are misinformed that their student gets a bus or a bus card. They [the parents] do not take into consideration that if their child is in the walk zone they do not get a school bus, ” Wessling said. Students close to a school bus stop that get Go To cards don’t understand why they can’t take the school bus instead, Wessling added.

The number of school buses been reduced from 19 buses to 12 at South High. According to Wessling, there have been over a million dollars of transportation cuts. Due to buses being overloaded, the policy of requiring a sticker on a student’s ID in order to ride the school bus went into effect.

For other Liberal Arts students, the CSO plan has no effect on how they commute to and from school. Junior Kaneesha Green, a Liberal Arts student that is eligible for a Go-To card but drives to school said, “Last year was a hassle for me to get to school because I had to wake up early to catch the bus and it took a long time to get home from school, but this year I drive to school. Although money for gas can get expensive sometimes, there’s no way I’m taking the city bus to school from North Minneapolis to South.”

Although Green qualifies for a a bus card, she feels that she does not need it because she would rather let it be used by someone else. Said Green: “I think the CSO plan is not in the best interest for students outside the school zone, I feel as though that Liberal Arts is being put on the back burner.”