September 17, 2007
Busing Your Children to Another School? Not Anymore.
The Times-Dispatch has an interesting article in today’s issue regarding the City of Richmond Public School system’s move to cut out-of-zone busing to save $625,000. Perhaps it’s a move to make up for the budget’s downfall possibly created between the Mayor and the School Boards’ seemingly constant quibbling.
When the School Board trimmed the busing services, it also cut 45 bus-driver positions and created express routes for programs that draw students from across the city, such as the International Baccalaureate schools. This year, those students may have to walk up to three-quarters of a mile to a bus stop. Last year, the maximum distance for each student was a half-mile. The express routes are longer, with fewer stops.
On a personal level, our daughter attends the wonderful Mary Munford elementary school. We were offered the option of having her picked up from our home only several blocks up the road which we politely declined simply because we felt it was in our best interest, along with the school’s, to drop her off and pick her up, especially since the school system would have gone a bit out of the way for us. We’re doing our share of helping the school system save money. Shouldn’t the School Board do the same and evaluate other cost-cutting measures that may not directly impact their students and our children?
Well Kory, I must be in one of my edgy moods, maybe I shouldn’t open this bag of worms, but here goes!
While you are saving the school system money, you and all the other folks that decide the bus is not for them are hurting the environment. It would be way cheaper for everyone if all the kids rode the bus. (Am I allowed to say this since I drive my daughter to school and pick her up? Call me a hypocrate, but bus is not an option for us). Plus, student pick up is a huge time-sucker. You don’t have to go through the regular carpool line at Munford like the rest of us, but thanks to
1. the elimination of the buses and
2. the vast number of people who decide “the bus is not for their kids” I have to wait about 20 minutes to collect my child after school, sitting in my car with my restless just turned 3-year-old boy. It is a bad system for many many reasons — the two most important being that people leave thier cars running, and then edge forward inches at a time and that it isn’t safe and impedes traffic. Traffic is backed up on Westmoreland all the way to Cary, and sometimes on Cary Street Road as well. I’m just praying no one gets hit while blocking traffic sitting at a standstill in the middle of the road.
Wow. Well, there are other situations we had to consider due to our daughter’s condition which we won’t mention publicly, but thanks.