California: Transportation to school is now the Parents' responsibility

[itsrobert]

Many school districts are doing away with buses. I can understand 1 to 2 miles and maybe even 3 miles. But in many areas it's over 4 to 10 miles to the nearest high school. Sometimes further. I have called the San Marcos Unified School District because my teenage kids would have to cross highways and go up steep grades of hills for about 4 miles to get to school Their attitude was "It's the parents responsibility" to provide their own transportation. Because of my wife and my work schedule, we simply can not be there for the kids every day. Biking is out of the question, because of a steep grade on the way back. We looked into city transit and it would take 90 minutes to get to school, to include about 1 mile of walking. We are looking into car pooling (sharing the duty with other parents) It's also a mad house around the school as streets are clogged with all the parents picking/dropping off their kids due to the cutting the bus. We have are kids walk a little ways.

Who thinks I don't have a legitimate gripe?

And I hear many districts are looking at San Marcos Unified as the model to cut the bus. So you maybe next. California has no laws requiring bus transportation.

[Fumesucker]

1. My brother was very nearly killed by a car walking home from school one day..

I would expect to see a lot more children hurt and killed by cars in a situation where more kids have to walk on busy roads that very often have no provisions at all for pedestrians.

There basically are *no* sidewalks in my county on main roads, only within a few subdivisions, none of which have schools in them.

[Brickbat]

2. We live out in the woods in a rural district. We went to a four-day week this year and the bulk of

the cuts came from reducing costs and payroll on the buses and bus drivers. While I do tend to agree that getting the kids to school is the parents' responsibility, there should be an alternative that would also be the parents' responsibility, such as paying for bus service. I would be perfectly happy to pay a fee to keep the school buses running five days a week, but sadly, that was never considered.

I drive my kids in the morning and they take the bus home.

I'm sorry you have to deal with this. The cuts most districts are pushing for are shameful, IMO.

[Toots]

35. You already do pay a fee to get your children to school, it;s called taxes.

Those taxes are being hijacked for war and Military goods though and as long as school is mandated by the government then government has a responsibility to help get your children there..We allow Republicans to screw over our nation and our children so they can use all our money for Military spending so they can receive huge kick-backs and maintain their power base..We/Obama/Democrats are allowing this...So we have no right to complain.

[Brickbat]

36. The people in our district voted down a levy increase that would have fully funded five days of bus

service. Because they didn't, I would be happy to pay an extra bus fee to keep the buses going, but the school board did not consider this option.

[krabigirl]

3. Yep. Happening in our district. Luckily, the elementary school is very close to our house. Ro

However, the closest junior high is about 12 miles away. Busses are cut for that..not sure what people are going to do.

[racaulk]

4. That is outrageous.

Are the school systems doing this to cut costs? If so, that seems to be a very drastic and short-sighted solution. Making it more difficult for childrent to get a good education hurts them, and all of us, so much more in the long run.

I totally agree that your gripe is legitimate. I hope your family, and many others, are somehow able to find a workable solution.

:pals:

[aquamarina]

5. I have a couple ideas that might help you out.

1. When I was in high school, I had the same situation, school was 5+ miles away and no bus services. I got together with four other kids in the same general area to carpool with and each parent picked one day a week to be their driving day.

or...

2. Maybe you can find a parent who has recently become unemployed and "hire" them to drive your kids to and from school - and if there are other kids in the same situation you not only have the security of your kids getting to and from school safely, you are also helping out someone who is unemployed to make a few extra bucks.

Good luck.

[kiranon]

6. Carpools and there are private companies/individuals who ferry

children back and forth to school. Our bus service is mostly gone - just left for Learning Disabled children if they go to an out of area school and for minority children who are bused to make schools more uniform in their composition. I expect this minimal service to be gone soon as well. Join the parent/teacher association and find out about carpools or parents who will take another child with them for a small fee/gas money. We pick up a teacher's daughter from school and she takes one child to school. Interesting arrangements can be worked out but it takes networking by the parents at school. Hope it works out for you as walking/bike riding does not sound like an option for your family.

[GOTV]

7. But if the school can't afford busses what do you do?

aren't low taxes the #1 priority in California?

[gratuitous]

10. The natural outcome of taxophobia

I'm not saying this in regard to the original poster, but certainly the "low tax" mantra will sooner or later hit something important to everyone. Whether it's more potholes in the road, no school bus service, or longer lines at the DMV, taxophobia eventually creeps up on everyone. The question is, will something like this finally move Californians off the schneid and get them to change their dumb method of making sure that taxes are captive to the whim of the minority?

[SoCalNative]

13. We never had buses in my school district in So Cal

except for the special ed kids.

Everyone else had to walk or have a parent take them to and from school, or ride the regular bus until they were old enough to drive.

[Cronus Protagonist]

19. Did it hurt a lot??

lol

:loveya: :fistbump: :pals: :yourock:

[ProgressiveProfessor]

23. We did not have buses in Honolulu either. Students got discounted bus tickets

[FSogol]

8. Isn't this the end result of "No New Taxes?"

In S. Dakota they are unpaving roads because they can't maintain them. Stuff like this is the end result of the GOP's mismanagement of this Country. Every Democratic campaign ad should touch on these examples.

[MadMaddie]

38. Yes.

This is the deevolution of a once great America. The middle class dream has been destroyed by the Republicans and we are really the only ones that are paying attention.

What about those parents that don't have cars? Sad day..

[Cronus Protagonist]

9. awwwwwww

I took the bus 7 miles back and forth every day for 6 years. It's easy.

[seabeyond]

12. how about the 5, 6, 7, 8 yr old? they are not allowed to stay at home by self

but can walk miles to school by self?

[SoCalNative]

14. We did when I was a kid

and I'm talking from first grade on.

[Cronus Protagonist]

18. I was eleven when I first started taking public transport to school

It was easy. We got to know the exact times of each bus in the proximity to the departure and destinations and the buss pass was very useful outside of school times too, for getting around town on my own. I used public transport for college too, another 4 years on top of the six years from 11 to 18. (rounded down for the nit-pickers)

[seabeyond]

20. our school was in the neighborhood, crossing neighborhood streets, and crosswalk

people at places.

i am not seeing that in the area i live. the school in this district is two miles away. and crossing two major streets. no sidewalks so kids would be walking ON the street.

no way in hell i would have little, nor would i let my kids.

[Gormy Cuss]

22. There are ways to improve the safety even in areas without sidewalks

For example,the local district here installed barriers between the travel lane and the shoulder on principal school walking routes and installed warning lights and signs reminding drivers of the low speed limit and the nearby school. There are also crossing guards at the worst intersections.

It would be better if there were sidewalks and more crossing guards, but it would be even better if there were school buses for the elementary schools. There are local transit authority special routes serving the intermediate and high schools but I think that not enough parents will send the little kids on public buses to make it feasible at the elementary level.

I walked two miles to school starting in 4th grade but we had sidewalks and quite frankly, more attentive drivers who actually stopped for walk signals. We also tended to walk to school in packs of 4-10 kids which made us hard to ignore. I think lacking that density school buses really are a better option.

[REP]

26. I walked to grade school all by myself. Or sometimes with my younger brother.

Oh noes!! How did we stand the abuse??? This was in Missouri, not California, too - it gets really really cold and even snows in Missouri!

[seabeyond]

30. i did too, but then the elementary school was in neighborhood and no major thruways and

we had sidewalks and it wasnt even a mile.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

16. >I took the bus

>took the bus
>the bus
>bus

[REP]

27. I read this as flying the Metro

City bus, not school bus. Could be I read it that was as that is what I did in HS when it was really cold and icy, even though the HS was only a mile or so away. I really dislike being that cold.

[seabeyond]

11. i have always driven. kids always out of district and too far and lousy pedestrian

availability. cars dont stop to let kids cross even at cross walk

i am sorry you are in this situation. i am sorry calif is reduced to this.

[CTyankee]

15. The rethugs would simply ask you why you had kids you "couldn't take care of."

Sad, but true...they'd go there...

[musette_sf]

31. But if every sperm is sacred,

I thought they didn't care if you knew you didn't have the money to have kids!

I thought forced birth was incumbent upon all, full speed ahead and damn the family budget!

I thought their magical G-d had a plan for those compelled to forced birth!

(In real life, I believe the above issues are covered by the very very small, invisible print on any forced birther legislation:
(a) We know you can't afford to take care of it, that's why we want to force you to be our unpaid baby oven, and then give it to one of our barren church sistren.
(b) That is, if it's healthy, white and delightsome.
(c) If unhealthy and/or ethnically non-desirable, we could not care less about you or it. Why are you having kids you can't take care of?)

[Xithras]

17. Latchkey?

My wife and I had this problem this year with our youngest, and the solution was morning latchkey. We drop him off at 7AM every morning on the way to work. He likes it, because he gets to play in the morning before school. We like it because our 5 year old first grader doesn't have to fight his way alone across busy roads in the morning. According to the school district, we live too close, so he gets to walk.

The downside, of course, is that latatchkey costs money. Not much, but it's still money (I think we pay $1.25 an hour).

[DrDan]

21. I assume there is a finite pile of money - and if it comes down to cutting

transportation or teaching staff - I have to come down on the side of letting transportation go.

This will be a decision facing all districts with the current "cut tax" mentality.

[Fumesucker]

24. I wonder if they're cutting the sports teams?

I know where I live that would be the very last thing to go, particularly football.

[DrDan]

33. I wonder if there is a student fee for sports programs - there is in my school district

maybe a bus fee for those parents who still want that service.

[WinkyDink]

25. Good thing America loves its children! USA! USA!

[Codeine]

28. Good. They need the exercise. nt

[LWolf]

29. You have a legitimate gripe.

I assume the source is budget cuts...we've (educators) been telling the general public that underfunding was a problem for a long time now. If the system had been fully funded to begin with, there'd be more room to cut less essential things.

That said, I don't see that this will stand. Fight back hard enough, in enough numbers, NOW, before it sets a precedent that cash-strapped districts in other states will follow.

Leaving transportation up to parents is not democratic; it sure as hell isn't offering equal access to all. It's going to create huge attendance problems, as well as family problems. It doesn't take much to predict that this will be a disaster.

[woo me with science]

32. And yet....

http://abcnews.go.com/WN/public-school-los-angeles-named-robert-kennedy-expensive/story?id=11462095

By DAVID WRIGHT and BRADLEY BLACKBURN
Aug. 23, 2010

The most expensive public high school in the nation's history will open its doors to students next month in Los Angeles, but critics say the $578 million school is already teaching a lesson on wasteful spending.

...

The soaring, unusually shaped buildings are clad in glass and metal, and the interiors are just as slick. The facility boasts a state-of-the-art swimming pool, fine art murals, an ornate auditorium suitable for hosting the Oscars, and a faculty dining room that the superintendent says is "better than most restaurants."

More Expensive Than China's Olympic Stadium

All those amenities add up to an enormous price tag, which works out to about $250,000 per pupil. That $578 million cost is more expensive than the Bird's Nest stadium built for the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, China, which cost $500 million. It's also significantly more expensive than the $400 million home of the Denver Broncos, Invesco Field at Mile High.

Critics say the school is a luxury that the Los Angeles Unified School District cannot afford. The district has a $640 million budget shortfall, and over the past two years, 3,000 teachers have been laid off. The district has even proposed shortening the school year by six days to save money.

The money troubles come on top of the district's serious academic shortfalls. With a dropout rate upwards of 35 percent, LA Unified is one of the lowest-performing school districts in America.

....






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IMO the school districts may be targeting buses on purpose in order to get the public concerned about budget shortfalls. In our previous districts, schools have often threatened cuts to services that mean the most to families in order to "encourage" the passage of levies that will provide more money for schools.

[PA Democrat]

34. Wonder what the environmental impact would be if this trend grows?

It seems that it would be better for the environment to have a bus with 50 kids doing the transporting rather than separate trips by car. There may be some carpooling, some cases where the parents pass the school on their way to work, but I doubt that the overall effect would be positive on the environment.

I know that many of us grew up in times of neighborhood schools with a large population of kids that could walk to school, but where I live that is not the case any longer. Schools are located on or near very busy roads and highways with no safe place to walk.

[RB TexLa]

37. Don't the parents of childen who ride the buses pay fees for them?