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busdrver4jesus
Top Member
USA
802 Posts |
 Posted - 09/13/2006 : 3:20:18 PM
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School Bus Stops Changing
Wednesday, Sep 13, 2006 - 02:52 PM
Kris Mau
Many of you have noticed that your child has to walk to a new bus stop this school year. And you've contacted News Channel 7, saying the changes have made things down right dangerous.
Education reporter Kris Mau visited one of about 100 stops in Spartanburg District Five that changed this year.
Parent Lemont Gaff says he'd rather drive his 14-year old daughter to school every day, rather than let her walk down the street to her new bus stop.
"I drive her because I don't feel that it's safe for her to go down to the bus stop in the morning," says Gaff. "There's no lights, or sidewalks for her to get down there. And the traffic on this road is too fast."
That road is Berry Shoals in Duncan.
"Last year, they got picked up at the end of the driveway," says Gaff. "They had no problem doing that in the morning. Now, all of a sudden, after a month of picking them up at the same place, now they've changed the bus routes."
It's because Spartanburg District Five, along with every other district in the state has to comply with the law.
The law says, in part, buses can only stop every two-tenths of a mile.
"Those rules have actually been on the books since the 70's," says bus supervisor in the Taylors Bus Shop in Greenville County Mike Bullman.
But here's what's new. A computer system that precisely pinpoints which districts are within the law. And how much, those that aren't, deviate from the rules.
Those that vary from the law can either pay a monetary fine or change the routes.
School districts get a certain amount from the state to use toward what's called hazardous miles, or those portions of the routes that deviate from the law.
Once that money is used up, districts must pay for the hazardous miles out of their own pockets.
Most districts decided that they cannot afford to pay the fines, and changed their routes instead. Leaving many parents wondering why there are so many sudden, drastic changes.
Bus supervisors say safety is still priority number one.
Spartanburg Five is looking into dozens of parent complaints about safety concerns with the new bus stops.
If you have a safety concern, contact your local school district.
News Channel 7 found that there are many school districts that still owe fees for hazardous miles from last year. In total, districts owe more than $1.4 million.
Here is the list of Upstate school districts that still owe money for hazardous miles, as of September 12, 2006:
Greenville County School District= nearly $90,000
Spartanburg District Two= $89,721.54
Spartanburg District Six= $2,856.20
Spartanburg District Seven= $780.95
Anderson District Four= $3,371.76
Greenwood District 50= $2,260.78
Greenwood District 51= $89.21
Laurens District 55= $7,337.54
Oconee School District= $1,211.03
http://www.wspa.com/midatlantic/spa/news.apx.-content-articles-SPA-2006-09-13-0008.html
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Edited by - busdrver4jesus on 09/13/2006 3:21:06 PM
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busdrver4jesus
Top Member
USA
802 Posts |
Posted - 09/13/2006 : 3:23:12 PM
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quote:
Parent Lemont Gaff says he'd rather drive his 14-year old daughter to school every day, rather than let her walk down the street to her new bus stop.
"I drive her because I don't feel that it's safe for her to go down to the bus stop in the morning," says Gaff. "There's no lights, or sidewalks for her to get down there. And the traffic on this road is too fast."
If the parent can drive her to school, then he can drive her to the new bus stop. When are parents going to take responsibility for their children?
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SC - Many Bus Routes Changing
