An inside look at how a Widefield District 3 charter school handles student transportation without buses

EL PASO COUNTY, Colo. (KRDO) -- Earlier this week, we saw in Harrison District 2 how hectic it can be to prepare and maintain a school bus fleet as the new school year begins.

But that's not a problem at a charter school that doesn't have buses.

The James Madison Charter Academy in Widefield District 3 hasn't used buses during its 20 years of operation.

"It's fairly common among charter schools, but some use it more than others," said Jeff Kacena, the school's principal. "It's more expensive to operate and maintain buses, and as a nonprofit charter school, we devote most of our resources to education."

The academy transports students to and from school by using a carpool system involving parents and adult guardians.

The system has a strict protocol for how, when, and where the carpools line up; when the students can leave the building; and when they can get into their vehicles.

Kacena said that for parents who have to be at work early or get off late, the school allows affected students to arrive as early as 7 a.m. and stay as late as 6 p.m.

A nice aspect of the carpool system is that some students help their classmates enter their vehicles at dismissal.

"It's a very safe system," Kacena explained. "It limits the amount of time that children are outside the school. Our students don't have to cross roads, crosswalks, or things like that. They literally come right out of the school and into their car."

The academy has an enrollment of 70 students, serving grades K-8.