FRAMINGHAM, Mass. — A citizen petition to restore cuts to school bus transportation here failed 89 to 40 by a ballot vote on Oct. 20 at a special town meeting.

As SBFpreviously reported, the Framingham School Committee approved scaled-back school bus transportation this year to save $500,000. Only students who live at least two miles away from their schools can ride buses. 

New Town, Mass., meeting member Danielle Thorpe sponsored a warrant article that would have forced officials to appropriate money from other parts of the Framingham budget to restore transportation to students who live within two miles of the schools they attend.

During the town meeting, speakers debated about taking $270,000 from the town’s stabilization fund to reinstate bus service to these students, The MetroWest Daily News reports.

Thorpe told the newspaper that she was disappointed by the outcome of the meeting and ballot vote.

“But it is what it is,” she added, “and I hope that it wakes this town up and I hope that no child gets hurt in the meantime.”

Linda Dunbrack, chairwoman of the Framingham Finance Committee (which opposed the warrant article), told the newspaper that the town needs to focus on cutting costs and finding new revenue, and that it must “break the cycle of living beyond its means.”