“This is a dead or alive issue," said parent Scott Larson.

Parents said enough is enough and that it's time for the Lake County School Board to bring back courtesy busing to keep their children safe while heading to and from school.

Currently, if they are not dropped off, students who live less than two miles from school have to walk. But parents said with unsafe roadways across the county, district leaders are taking an unnecessary risk with their children’s lives.

Larson is the administrator of the Lake County Safe School Initiative, a parent-led blog.

After an online poll of 258 respondents, Larson proposed busing for elementary school children if they live more than a half-mile from their school and one mile for middle and high school students.

“Right now, all children have to walk two miles. But to expect the young kids to do it is just not safe," Larson explained.

Lake County Schools Superintendent Susan Moxley told the public and school board she knows restoring courtesy busing after nearly two years of budget cuts has been a hot topic, so her staff is already looking into it.

“One of the things we were looking at was to gather some data and I know that the board and Mr. Mathias had conversation about what does it look like it were one mile and so we’re running some scenarios right now," Moxley said.

“An overwhelming majority of Lake County residents feel that the students shouldn’t be walking out on these roads," Larson countered. “We have 5-year-old children that are walking two miles down highways without sidewalks and crossing four or five lanes of high speed traffic without even a crosswalk."

Moxley said her staff is still gathering data and mapping out a plan with new busing software, which she said will allow the board to make a data driven decision about the possibility of bringing back courtesy busing.

“And we really want to make sure we are pulling accurate data that is reflective of other routes. What does that impact if we were to move to a one-mile scenario for the elementary," Moxley emphasized.

"I hope that the school board really takes notice, knows that we’re still here, we’re not going home and makes the right decision moving forward," Larson said.

As for her timeline, the superintendent said the school board should be able to begin to make a decision on courtesy busing in March, which is the same time of year district leaders will begin finalizing next school year’s budget.