Last term, the ministry notified schools in the Mosgiel-Taieri area that only pupils living 2.6km or more from school were eligible to travel on buses, which meant the North Taieri bus would be stopped.
The Ministry of Education only had to give one term's notice of any cuts to school buses, Silverstream School principal Elizabeth Cleverly said.
Principals of all of the affected primary schools had met to discuss their options, she said.
Silverstream School had notified parents of the changes in the school's newsletter last week, and had received phone calls from concerned parents that same day. It was "a bit harsh" that the schools had only been given one term's notice, and they were now looking at their options.
About 70 pupils from Silverstream School could be affected by the changes.
The schools had contacted the ministry and were now waiting for a reply, she said.
"All we would like is a bit of transparency from the ministry as to what our options are," Miss Cleverly said.
Elmgrove School principal Jenny McDonald said she was concerned about the pupils who lived on the fringes of Mosgiel, but pupils who lived in rural areas would be fine.
Safety was the school's biggest concern. To have pupils crossing busy roads to get to school was not ideal, Mrs McDonald said.
"The ministry have made their decision and they're not likely to go back on it ... so we need to look at ways we can work with other schools and the community to find a solution," she said.
Taieri College acting principal Paul Bolton said he had only just come back from a school trip to Africa, so he only became aware of the changes this week.
Some pupils at the college would be affected by the changes and there would be some families who would not be happy about them.
"I will be talking to parents affected by the changes and then I will be taking their concerns to the ministry," Mr Bolton said.
Otago Road Services is contracted by the Ministry of Education to deliver the school bus service in the Mosgiel-Taieri area. Manager Brent Sutherland said he was unsure he could comment on the matter because of the contract the company had with the ministryThe Ministry of Education did not reply to questions from The Star before deadline.
