Two springfield teenagers have been struck by cars while walking to and from school less than two months apart.

  The collisions called attention to a policy that allows schools to deny bus service to students who live too close.

  But another Ozarks school district has ignored that policy since its beginning, offering buses to every student in the district.

  Now that costly service may now be in jeopardy.

  School's out at West Elementary in Ozark, and that means a mad dash to the prefered mode of transportation: car or bus.

  About 65% of Ozark School District students opt for the latter, but 100% have the opportunity. 

  Rebecca Diggs and her two daughters live within a mile of the school, but without the bus they'd have no way to get there.

  "I don't drive."

  Plus, Rebecca's husband works late into the night.

  So parental transportation is out of the question and walking-

  "No, I mean that's a long ways. There's highways out there that are very busy. To have the little kids walk- there have been kids getting hit on the way to school in Springfield," Rebecca tells us.

  The parents of those kids said there just aren't enough safe routes to school; Rebecca seconds that.

  Part of the reason why parents like her are so grateful for Ozark's extended bus program is because of the extreme lack of sidewalks in the community.

  Her neighborhood has them but just around the corner it's all grass and ditch.

  "We haven't had any problems in many years with anyone getting hit," explains Ozark's Director of Operations Kevin Patterson.

  But tight budgets are threatening the service that's already losing money for Ozark.

  "The Governor has already cut 9%, which for Ozark was about $60,000 dollars for the school year."

  And districts don't get any money to bus kids who live in a school's mile-wide radius.

  "We're just planning ahead right now, it's not necessarily in jeopardy," Patterson reassures.

  Still, Rebecca is worried and so is her brood- for superficial reasons-

  "I wouldn't like it cause then my legs would hurt," her older daughter Haley says.

  And legitimate ones.

  "I could get hit by a car."