Weston Pauses Bus Flexibility Crackdown After Parent Outcry at School Committee

WESTON — May 19, 2025 — Weston School Committee halts planned bus-flexibility restrictions amid strong parent opposition. Administrators Dr. Zaleski and Dr. Trahan told the board Monday that no changes to the district's longstanding practice of allowing students to ride buses to friends' homes would take effect immediately, after three parents spoke against the proposal during public comment, citing harm to working families, single parents, and cross-school social ties. Dr. Trahan cited safety and logistical concerns — including 60 alternative-transportation requests on a single half-day, May 7, and routinely inaccurate bus manifests — as the original drivers of the change, but said the administration is now working with legal counsel on a permission-form and liability-waiver framework. The committee voted unanimously to ratify a new 2025–2028 WEA union contract and to trim the June meeting schedule to two sessions, June 2 and June 16, canceling the June 9 meeting.