In order to fully comply with K-12 transportation regulations, Hillsdale Academy will no longer use certain Hillsdale College vehicles for traveling to athletic events and will instead rely on parents to take their kids to games.
Prior to this change in October, Hillsdale Academy’s athletic coaches all had chauffeurs licenses and drove students to games in two or three different college vehicles. Because most of the college’s vehicles do not comply with K-12 transportation regulations, the Academy has chosen not to continue using them.
Mike Roberts, Hillsdale Academy athletic director, said that this compliance was in no way forced upon the school, but was only instituted to ensure the safety of students.
“When you’re transporting K-12 kids and you’re using any vehicle that transports more than 10 kids, there’s a certain specification that every vehicle has to have for safety, like steel reinforcements,” he said. “Never have we felt that we put the kids in an unsafe situation with what we’ve been doing.”
Roberts said that he began looking into the transportation regulations after “getting grief” from the Lenawee Christian School transportation supervisor who said they would like to use similar buses but didn’t think they could.
“This took me down the line of starting to ask more questions,” Roberts said. “We called the state looking to see what is really needed, and as we researched it, we realized that we would like to get in this full-compliance situation. This isn’t because of an accident, worry, or trying to cut the transportation budget. Once we learned more about K-12 transportation, we decided to change, and it’s a positive thing.”
On Oct. 3, the Academy sent out an email and letter informing parents of the situation, and Roberts addressed the student body, explaining why the school would no longer be traveling to games in the college’s buses.
Upon receiving the email, Amy Miller, a parent whose children play sports at the Academy, said she was surprised.
“One of my favorite things about the Academy’s athletic program was that kids can participate and it doesn’t rely on parent driving,” Miller said. “It certainly makes you think harder about whether or not your children can participate if they are dependent on parent drivers. It might throw a monkey wrench in the system.”
Miller also said that her children had enjoyed being able to spend time with their teammates on the bus before the game.
Neal Brady, Hillsdale Academy head men’s soccer coach, said the players didn’t complain about the new transportation method, but that he believes it hinders players’ mental preparation for away games.
“In terms of creating a pre-game atmosphere, part of that is the drive and having community with your team,” Brady said. “Because quite often the margin of victory is so narrow, you want to take care of all the minor parts of the contest and a lot of that is before the game and getting your mind in the right position. When you have kids driving or in a passenger car, it’s just not the same.”
Brady said that the change did not greatly affect the team this year because it was enacted with only three weeks left in the season, but he hopes the Academy will find a way to transport the team together in the future.
Roberts said that the Academy is hoping to use college vehicles which do fully comply with K-12 transportation regulations soon.
“As the college addresses their own needs, they’re hoping to buy another bus and we’re looking to then again have a bus back in our use,” Roberts said. “We’re excited about having everyone together one day. That’s part of the junior high and high school athletic experience.”
