TOP STORY
Families Coping with Transportation Cuts, Alternatives
By Stephane Babcock Te simple but painful truth is that school bus service is a
privilege and not a right. No matter how you look at it, reality dictates that a growing number of school districts cannot af- ford to bus all of their students. But what about when parents are in same boat? For many low-income families, school transportation gives
children a safe and reliable way to get the education that can help change their lives for the better. Recently, Buffalo (N.Y.) City School District (BCSD) was criticized for the elimination of routes by some families in the community. But, the changes were not as extreme as local news articles would have you believe, ac- cording to John P. Fahey, assistant superintendent of service cen- ter operations for BCSD.
❝
the cuts soon found herself as busy as before. “Due to the cuts, some of the parents from the specialty pro-
grams/schools have organized themselves and have hired us to provide the same service the school board provides, the differ- ence being that they actually pay out of pocket for the service,” said Tilly Varga, president of Te Little People’s Transportation Corp., which she started six years ago with a couple of vans and has since expanded into a fleet of 22 vehicles. “Tis has certainly given our business a great boost.” Many of the parents affected by the changes dug into their
It just saddens me that the yellow school bus is the
nation’s most safe mode of transportation and in Cal- ifornia with the budget crises so bad it’s the first item on the chopping block. ❞
— Pam McDonald, California Association of School Transportation Officials “We eliminated district provided transportation for K-8
non-public students who attend schools outside of our district boundaries. We also limited district-provided yellow bus services to non-public schools within our boundaries to only those days when the Buffalo Public Schools are in session,” explained Fahey. Te services were eliminated because they are not required by
state regulations and the district began experiencing an increas- ing student load, which began with one school in the 2004-2005 school year and doubled last year. “Tis type of service is, by its nature, highly inefficient, as a bus
picks up a limited number of students and then transports them a long distance out to the suburbs with little or no chance to be paired up for a second run,” added Fahey. For students who live at least three-quarters of a mile from
one of the district’s 112 public school sites, transportation is guaranteed, which helps many families in the third poorest city in the nation. Currently, the district transports approximately 90 percent of all students in Pre-K through eighth grade.
PARENTS PITCH IN In some cities that are not as fortunate as Buffalo, parents are
giving what they can to keep their kids on the yellow bus. In Con- cord, Ontario, when the York Region District School Board de- cided to slash services to their students, a contractor affected by
18 School Transportation News Magazine February 2010
pockets rather than allow their students to ride public transit for a means to get to and from school. Te costs to parents may be a little higher than transit fares, but Varga said she believes the level of personal service and safety makes the price much more reason- able. Te key to keeping the service affordable, she said, is the number of passengers on board. Te more stu- dents, the more economical the ser- vice is to families. “As the government makes further
cuts to education for economical rea- sons, I see transportation being one
of the first services to go in the hopes of keeping the same level of education as is currently being provided,” added Varga, who began her career as a bus driver.
KEEPING OPTIONS OPEN Te elimination of early morning busing and a school closure
are just a few bumps that Orange Unified School District Trans- portation Director Pam McDonald has had to deal with this year. Te California budget crisis has been another challenge for Mc- Donald and other directors within the state. “It just saddens me that the yellow school bus is the nation’s
most safe mode of transportation and in California with the bud- get crises so bad it’s the first item on the chopping block. We are on the way to reducing what we have down to practically noth- ing,” said McDonald, who is also the president of the California Association of School Transportation Officials. So far, the state-wide cuts haven’t affected low income fami-
lies in her district. But if it were to affect them, the local transit agency, Orange County Transit Authorities, offers some routes for which students could purchase a 30-day student pass. Te school board is also planning to vote on whether to eliminate Gifted and Talented (GATE) student transportation, increase bus pass fees by another $60 per year and eliminate district funding for sports transportation. n
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60