Dallas Rael rode her Gotrax scooter – which tops out at 20 miles an hour – through the backstreets of downtown Denver from her home near Paco Sánchez Park to Morey Middle School on the first day of school.

The scooter’s battery died near school and the single mom had to Uber home after dropping off her sixth grader.

The roughly three-mile, one-way trip was not for fun and giggles.

“You can’t take Colfax,” said Rael, 31. “You can’t take it (the scooter) on regular roads because they go 40 miles an hour and I can only go 20.”

Rael is one of countless Denver Public Schools’ (DPS) parents who do not have bus service for their children now that the district has implemented its new Healthy Start times.

Passed by the DPS board of education two years ago, all middle and high schools this academic year will start no earlier than 8:20 a.m. to support healthy adolescent sleep habits to foster better academic outcomes. That time change, and a bus driver shortage, caused the district to trim the number of bus routes. 

Just six of the district’s more than 200 schools – including Morey – are expected to see their bus service reduced or cut this academic year, which started Monday.

Scott Pribble, a DPS spokesperson, has said that a driver shortage contributed to the need to make transportation adjustments.

The district, Pribble said, will maintain transportation services for highly gifted and talented students who attend Morey and live in the Southwest, Central and Far Northeast regions.

Morey Middle School is known for its gifted and talented program.

“No school district can cut services to a special education student that include transportation services in their Individual Education Plan or IEP,” Pribble has said.

Rael’s son – who has Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, also known as ADHD – is on an IEP and struggles with concentrating and sitting still, Rael said. Before getting district support, Rael said her son was failing three grades in elementary school. Now he’s a solid C, B student.

Attending Morey, Rael said, is “more a need than a want.”

She’s not alone in her sentiment.

About a half a dozen people – including children – spoke during public comment on Monday about the issue.

Mai Lynne, 11, had to stand on her tippy toes to reach the mic.

“I feel scared walking down the streets alone with homeless people and many cars driving around,” Lynne told the DPS board Monday night.

Lynne added: “I don’t agree with the change and I really wish you’d bring back the buses.”

Located on 14th Ave. downtown, Morey Middle School is just a couple of blocks south East Colfax. Avenue, a main driving artery in Denver.

Three of the roads that hem in Morey are one-way streets made snug with parked cars. A steady stream of vehicles navigated these neighborhood streets on Tuesday, 30 minutes before the first bell.

Four crossing guards – bunched around two of the four intersections that surround Morey Middle School – helped stop traffic Tuesday so students could cross safely.

While Pribble did not know how many students were impacted with the busing changes, he said only 22 of the district’s 650-plus daily bus routes were cut.