Leon School Board members say no scooters on campus; district to study if ban is needed

The debate over the Tallahassee e-scooter pilot program has made its way into Leon County Schools.

At a Monday agenda review meeting, School Board member Alva Striplin brought the issue of the motorized scooters up for discussion.

Her question about what to do about the vehicles was met with a general chorus of frustration from other board members about the hazards of having the zippy vehicles on school campuses. 

District spokesman Chris Petley noted that three of the scooters were found on Cobb Middle School's campus near Tallahassee Memorial Hospital the first night the scooter program was in town. 

The scoop on scooters:

• First week of e-scooters brings mixed reaction in capital city
• Scooters invade FSU: Lime pauses program as city directs companies to address geofence issues
• As many as 1,000 e-scooters hit the streets of Tallahassee for a 3-month pilot program

Striplin tossed out the idea of protecting schools with a "geofence," a virtual geographic boundary that will trigger the scooters to shut down when crossed.

Such a fence was supposed to be established around the capital city's universities, but the vehicles have been spotted on FSU's campus. And one company, Lime, even pulled its fleet temporarily as they figure out how to prevent campus travel.

"Banning scooters, we can all agree on," Striplin said. 

Currently, the district does not have a policy in place. Students are allowed to ride their bicycles to campus.  

"As with any new technology, we will look into whether an action needs to be taken in regards to the scooters," Petley said. "As of right now, there are no changes to policy." 

The first day of school for LCS students is Monday, Aug. 12. 

Have a comment? Email CD Davidson-Hiers at CDavidsonH@tallahassee.com and follow her on Twitter @DavidsonHiers.