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Rich
Top Member
United States
5768 Posts |
 Posted - 08/09/2003 : 10:59:16 PM
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Hello all,
My school district has cut all busing for all high school students except special needs. This cut is leaving thousands of students, including school bus, and public bus riders, in a sling. These cuts are due to lack of funding from the state, and is a strategy to help save other programs, such as extra-curricular activities.
I am looking for any ideas that could help to convince the school board to change their minds, or come up with another way to bus the students, such as surcharges and what not.
I would really appreciate any suggestions, as this is a very important matter. Thank you! |
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kd4jfd
Top Member
USA
1170 Posts |
Posted - 08/10/2003 : 08:45:34 AM
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Here's a suggestion: (A bit tongue-in-cheek though  ) Go to your bus stop on the first day of school, of course the bus won't pick you up, so go back home. Encourage all your friends to do this too. The school system will have to scramble to hire new social workers to find out why all these students aren't in school. Then they will hopfully figure out it'll be cheaper just to run the buses. (Think about it... Cost of salary plus cost of cars for each social worker, plus fuel and maintenance, etc, paperwork, and so forth.) |
539 - Repair work in progress! |
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FirstStudentKid
Senior Member
USA
126 Posts |
Posted - 08/11/2003 : 1:49:33 PM
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I have a few suggestions concerning your problem:
First, locate as many concerned parents and students as possible. Have these people sign a petition or other document and take it to the next school board meeting. Be sure to have a good plan for restoring bus service as well.
Second, check to see if any students live more then 2.5 miles from your school. In some states schools will lose state funding for not transporting those students. If those students can be bussed, then it is easier to get everyone else back on.
Third, check with the bus company responsible for your local grade school. In my city, First Student was able to provide a 50% cost savings by combining grade and high school routes. In this system, high school students are picked up first and then dropped off. Afterwards, the grade school students are taken to school. In the afternoon, grade school students go home first and then high school students are picked up from their school and taken home. This system lets the same buses do both grade and high school. However, it does create some strange scheduling issues.
Fourth, check to see how much your school spends on management and sports. At many districts those two expenses easily consume more then 25% of the budget.
Fifth, consider offering to use a pay bus service. Perhaps you could ride with the special needs students or another district. Generally, pay programs range from $180/year to $1,000/yer.
Sixth, if no one is willing to listen, consider becoming a politican. Find some upset bus drivers and help them run for the next school board. Then, take some students and go door to door in order to generate support for your cause.
Good luck with restoring your buses! |
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Stevebus42
Advanced Member
USA
363 Posts |
Posted - 08/24/2003 : 4:05:25 PM
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| Actually Bruce may be on to something with his tongue and cheek suggestion. Take a look at attendance and tardiness trends. |
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largebus
Advanced Member
USA
468 Posts |
Posted - 08/27/2003 : 11:29:22 AM
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Hi guys,
Sorry to hear about the loss of busing. I can tell you that New York State Education Law mandates the busing of all elementary students living over 2 miles and all middle/high school students living over 3 miles from school. This applies to all districts except the Big 5 City School Disticts (Yonkers included), which are not legally required to transport any students other than special needs. So, to put it bluntly, from the perspective of the LAW you have no defense. For other districts in New York State students are split between AIDABLE students (those who live outside of the limits) and NONAIDABLE (those living within the limit in districts that have lower walking limits, such as my own). If you have any other questions concerning New York State laws concerning transportation this link may be of help.
If it is any comfort, when the Rochester City School District (in the same boat as Yonkers) made a proposal last year to cut transportation public outrage prompted the board to obtain additional money from the City. The Big 5 districts do not raise their own taxes-their income is entirely dependent on the state and their local City. Thus any aid to restore busing will need to come from one of those two places. You can lobby for a pay bus service but New York State law discourages fees, so that may be difficult to obtain. The best way would be to try to follow Rochester's example and get your board to lobby for more income.
Good luck!
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Logan C. Geen
Future Superintendent of Schools |
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JK
Top Member
USA
7307 Posts |
Posted - 08/27/2003 : 11:47:30 AM
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Interesting that SPEC-ED was not cut. See that quite often. Wonder why?
Sometimes the best way to keep school boards behaving, concerning the school buses, is to require in the law they do certain minimum things for REG-ED too. Were this not a requirement in many states the level of busing would be hit with massive cuts for a time and until school boards realized that the school bus is the greatest 'car pool' success story on the map. Much more efficient than trains and some transit systems. (jk)
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Edited by - JK on 08/27/2003 11:54:04 AM |
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largebus
Advanced Member
USA
468 Posts |
Posted - 08/27/2003 : 12:21:48 PM
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JK,
While I DO see your point on this issue but I wanted to mention some things, namely that I do not appreciate some comments (not by you neccessarily) made toward spending and special requirements for Spec-Ed students. My brother is one and the whole point of Spec-Ed is that students in such programs have special needs/issues which more often than not require more money for the specialists, services and yes, the transportation that may be required. This is one of the few issues I cannot help but take extremely personally, since my younger brother happens to be one of those students (he is autistic) and my Mother has fought to the nth degree for him. Were it not for some of the special regulations, many of these students would not get the services they are entitled to and deserve.
In terms of busing, much of the expense for Spec-Ed busing is not from home to school service (which applies in many cases but not all) but rather to the fact that students are transported to a variety of special instutitions and programs that are frequently out of district that these kids NEED. I agree some restrictions need to be in place for Reg-Ed home to school transport (there already is in NY for all students in all districts besides the Big 5). I'm not saying that you were insuating anything in this or any other post, but issues concerning Spec-Ed happen to be a very sensitive area for me and my family, and I hear comments toward it all the time, so I felt compelled to post this.
Sorry for the interference. |
Logan C. Geen
Future Superintendent of Schools |
Edited by - largebus on 08/27/2003 12:28:10 PM |
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JK
Top Member
USA
7307 Posts |
Posted - 08/27/2003 : 1:34:51 PM
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quote:
Originally posted by largebus
JK,
I see your point on this issue but I do not appreciate some comments (not by you neccessarily) made toward spending and special requirements for Spec-Ed students. My brother is one and the whole point of Spec-Ed is that students in it have special needs which more often than not require more money for the specialists, services and yes, the ransportation that may be required. ...
I can understand your sensitivity. I plot no harm toward your brother or toward other SPEC-ED kids and drivers, as you indicated you probably already know.
My Mrs. was a public school SPEC-ED driver and restorative assistant for some nine years. She loved working with the kids and was president of a SPEC-ED organization. She treats all kids with the same compassion, somewhat enabling, but genuine for sure. We've had plenty of discussion in this area.
SPEC-ED is expensive and often too much abuse exists in this public school program. A five year-old must walk, but a 15-year-old with a five year old mentality gets' a free ride. That ride, from one case I noted, was from a house within a block of the school. Good sidewalks, crossing guards and yet a capable stay-at-home-mom with no other kids demanded the service anyway.
Special needs never was intended to baby kids and their parents, both often capable of so much more.
I've transported many mainstreaming special needs kids. Obvious that the vast majority are happiest when treated with the same expectations and decency as the REG-ED kids. Not always possible to do so but for many of these the desire to be treated within their full measure continues.
I treat the SPEC-ED kids like future contributors to our society, not losers or incapable somehow. When mainstreaming they ride in a bully-free bus environment where they are treated respectfully by all students that prefer to continue riding the bus. The same is expected from every student riding the mainstream bus. No exceptions.
I believe these and all kids are greater than often treated, because they believe they are greater than often treated, and have proven themselves to me and themselves over and over again.
Were this desire to achieve not true, for REG-ED and SPEC-ED alike, then no valid reason can be found to educate the exceptions in public schools. (jk) |
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NEED HELP Regarding HS Busing
