Beginning next school year, parents in Des Peres' Wyndemere Subdivision will no longer have to pay $400 to have their children bussed to the Kirkwood elementary and middle schools closest to their homes.

The Kirkwood School Board approved the reassignment of students living in the subdivision to attend Westchester Elementary and North Kirkwood Middle schools beginning next school year. Children currently are assigned to Tillman Elementary and Nipher Middle schools.

Executive Director of Student Services Shirleas Washington recommended the reassignment to the Kirkwood School Board Monday night. The recommendation is "due to proximity and convenience of the parents," Washington says in a memo to Kirkwood School District Superintendent Tom Williams.

Previously, parents who wished for their children to attend Westchester and North Kirkwood Middle had to provide their own transportation or pay $400 to the district in busing costs, according to Washington. With the reassignment, the district will cover the cost of busing to these schools.

The move was triggered by a request received from parents of the subdivision to revisit the elementary and middle school attendance boundary.

Washington told board members that all of the affected families have been notified of the decision and that the District has not been contacted with concerns. Fifteen students from the subdivision will attend Kirkwood schools next year.