Bus Information
Please know that the Transportation Department is dedicated to the service, safety and well-being of all School District 153 students.
- students who live more than 1.5 miles from school;
- students who must walk along or cross roads that constitute a safety hazard and are not supported by a crossing guard;
- and/or special education students per their Individual Education Plan.
Bus stop locations are selected to serve the students from central locations near their homes so that the busses can maintain a timely schedule. Please have your child ride the bus to and from school from the stop location closest to his/her home. We are locating these bus stops on the corner of the blocks that will serve several students from the same location to decrease the amount of stops the bus is making and to allow the busses to arrive at the schools on time.
Requests for bus route changes or additional stops at driveways for convenience will not be approved.
Please note the following:
- All daycare arrangements must be made in advance through the Transportation Department (708) 922-2411. Daycare arrangements do not automatically carry over from year to year. Once the school year has started and you need to make changes to transportation due to daycare, it will be a 72 hour implementation period. Changes in transportation will not be accepted unless approved by the District Office.
- Individual school offices do not have the ability to make changes regarding bus stops or daycare, those can only be done by the District Office.
- All students should arrive at their bus stops no less than 5 minutes before their scheduled times. Inclement weather does affect bus schedules, and therefore the arrival times may vary. Bus delays of 15 minutes or more will be communicated by telephone through the District’s emergency call system. We ask for your patience during these times.
- For the safety of our students, James Hart morning bus traffic has been moved to Aberdeen Street and the circle drive in front of the James Hart School will no longer be used by busses. The District has designated Morgan Street as strictly James Hart students drop off in the mornings. Student supervision for drop off begins at 7:20 AM.
- Please be courteous when dropping off your student by pulling ahead to the farthest spot which allows others to pull in and keep a constant flow of traffic.
Thanks in advance for your cooperation and patience for the upcoming school year.
Homewood School District 153’s transportation company, Kickert School Bus Lines, Inc., has been awarded a state grant in the amount of $20,993.00 through the US EPA Diesel Emissions Reduction Program (DERA), more specifically EPA’s Clean Diesel Funding Assistance Program. The grant will assist in replacing one 2004 full sized diesel buses with 2023 full size Bluebird gasoline bus. The use of propane/gasoline fuel rather than diesel for school buses is cleaner for the both student passengers and the environment. The grant is to cover 25% of the purchase price up to $25,000 per vehicle and replacement vehicles will be powered by 2018 or newer EPZ and/or CARB certified.
Recipients were selected based on area scoring metrics, and NATA Diesel PM concentrations above the 80% mark. Eligible vehicles must have been operated in the 2019 school year, drive over 7,000 miles annually, and be powered by a 2009 or older diesel engine.
Homewood School District 153 and Kickert School Bus Lines, Inc. are very thankful for this generous grant and look forward to providing lower emission transportation and decreasing the carbon footprint for the students, district, and environment.