By Claire Mitzel, Center for Health Journalism, November 25, 2020
For nearly 40 years, school attendance zones in Roanoke, Virginia, hardly shifted. The patchwork map that started crosstown busing was first created as part of a 1971 court-ordered desegregation plan, and for decades, school officials said they saw no reason to make major changes.
By 2009, though, the attendance zones were long outdated. Demographic shifts meant that schools became segregated once again, and in many cases, Black students were being bused to majority-Black schools. In addition, the school district was facing a tight budget year made worse by busing expenses.
The school board finally decided to overhaul the attendance boundaries. Faced with three options, the board voted to end busing and send students to schools in their neighborhood. Among other reasons, they pointed to evidence that students seemed to fare better academically when attending schools close to home.
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