School safety, security, and violence prevention resource

Going to school in a school bus has always been part of being an American kid.  Do you still remember when you were in school and you had to take the bus every single day?  Of course, I understand that not everyone’s experience is all rosy and pretty.  Still, school buses are part of our heritage, I think.

So when I read the news about California planning to reduce school bus service in their school districts, I was a bit confused as to what to think.  On the one hand, it would do some good in terms of gas usage I suppose.  On the other hand, would children be better off walking to school?

Here is an excerpt of the news report:

Thousands more California students will have to find their own way to school this fall, as districts slash bus routes to cope with budget shortfalls and high fuel costs.

Critics worry that the cuts will increase traffic around schools, shift costs to parents already struggling with rising gas prices and prompt more absenteeism, hurting students’ academic achievement. But paramount is the fear that the reductions will endanger students as more walk or drive to school.
“All the parents, we’ve been scrambling to try to work out carpools,” said Wayne Tate, whose second-grader’s bus to Castille Elementary, two miles from their home in Mission Viejo, was eliminated. “For somebody that young, that’s a pretty long way to walk or ride a bike. All you need is one kid getting hit to realize that maybe the [savings] wasn’t worth it.”

Districts say they have no choice.

“It’s a horribly difficult decision,” said Larry Brown, assistant superintendent of business services at Moorpark Unified School District in Ventura County, which is eliminating bus rides for its 2,400 high school students. “It’s a decision no one wants to make.”

So it is a matter of finances after all.  Is our economy that bad that we can even think of cutting costs in this regard?  I mean, these are children that we are talking about.  It is plain to see that having the children walk to school opens them up to more danger than if they were in school buses.  It is a given that there are school bus safety issues but as a parent, I would rest better if I knew that my children were in a school bus rather than on foot to and from school.

Your thoughts?

Don't miss another post -- subscribe by email or RSS today!